Wall Street ends higher on IMF hopes, European shares flat
Stocks jumped to their highest since July on Wednesday as the International Monetary Fund sought to help countries hit by the European debt crisis, while Goldman Sachs' forecast-beating earnings dispelled some worries over bank profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 96.88 points, or 0.78 percent, to end at 12,578.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 14.37 points, or 1.11 percent, to finish at 1,308.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 41.63 points, or 1.53 percent, at 2,769.71.
European shares held steady above a technical resistance level for the second day in thin volume as investors stayed away after the resumption of talks to stave off a disorderly debt default by Greece.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.02 percent at 1,034.64 points after being as low as 1,025.15 and as high as 1,037.77 in volume 83.4 percent of its 90-day daily average.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 1,034.31 points at 1240 GMT, recovering from a drop to below 1,028, a convergence level for its 200-day moving average, medium-term downtrend and previous intermediate highs.Japan's Nikkei average rose to its highest closing level in nearly two weeks on with traders citing a boost from large programme trade in the afternoon, while electrical wire companies were the small-cap favorite of the day. The Nikkei gained 1 percent to 8,550.58, soaring past its 25-day moving average near 8,453 in a rise that traders attributed to technical short-covering after stop losses on Nikkei futures were triggered.
The broader Topix climbed 0.5 percent to 734.98.
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