Global stocks rise after Italy auction, US data

The Dow and S&P 500 advanced for a second day on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data and hopes for further progress on a solution to Europe's fiscal mess bolstered sentiment.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 55.29 points, or 0.48 percent, at 11,578.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.14 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,196.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.01 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,519.33.

Meanwhile, European shares rose as short-term traders helped boost the market following good demand at an Italian bond auction despite soaring borrowing costs, while BASF rose after lifting its sales target.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.4 percent at 944.82 points in choppy trade, having been as high as 948.13 points and as low as 932.53.

In Asia, the Nikkei average climbed more than 2 percent today, closing at a two-week high on hopes that euro zone leaders were readying steps to ease the debt crisis and that a robust US holiday shopping season was underway.

This week's rally has been driven by short-covering after four weeks of losses, but market participants said selling from European investors capped gains and that the upside was limited as it will take time before any evidence of progress in the debt crisis emerges.

The benchmark Nikkei rose 2.3 percent to 8,477.82, gaining for a second straight day, in part due to record US sales over the long Thanksgiving weekend and moving away from a 2-1/2 year low hit last week. The broader Topix index gained 2 percent to 729.68.