Global stocks rise as China drops euro debt buying hint

Stocks on Wall Street rose, boosted by takeover activity and hopes for more next year.

Global stocks also rose broadly after China Vice Premier Wang Qishan supported efforts by European officials to stabilise the euro-zone's debt crisis. The comments were taken as implying China would increase its purchase of euro-zone debts.

Financial stocks advanced on expectations that deal-making in the sector will continue next year after Canadian bank Toronto-Dominion Bank agreed to acquire auto lender Chrysler Financial for $US6.3 billion. Shares of Toronto-Dominion rose 2.7%.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 55.03 points, or 0.5% to 11,533.16. Financial components led the measure, with JP Morgan Chase up 2.3%, American Express up 1.8% and Bank of America up 1.4%.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7% to 2667.61 and the S&P 500 index was up 0.6% to 1254.60, led by its financials sector.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks rose for a second day as investors shrugged off news that Portugal's credit rating may be lowered by Moody's Investors Service.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up 1% at 281.11, bringing its monthly gains to 7.4%.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 1% to 5951.80, led higher by shares of Barclays, which gained 2.8%, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, up 4.5%.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index ended up 0.9% to 7077.99. Steel maker ThyssenKrupp rose 1.5% and Heidelberg Cement gained 1.6%. In France, the CAC 40 index gained 1.1% to 3927.49, as car maker Peugeot rose 1.9% and Renault added 2.6%.

Asian shares rallied Tuesday as tensions eased on the Korean peninsula, with Chinese and Japanese shares leading the gains.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.5% to 10,370.53, China's Shanghai Composite added 1.8% to 2904.11 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.6% to 22993.86.

Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 2037.09, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7% to 4771.86 and India's Sensex gained 0.9% to 20,060.32.

Commodities: Oil, gold down
Oil futures pulled back after touching fresh two-year highs as the dollar weakened against the euro.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery slipped 6USc, or 0.1%, to $US89.31 a barrel in New York.

Front-month Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange hit a two-year high of $US93.22 a barrel before falling back to $US92.57, down 17USc.

The most actively traded gold contract, for February delivery, was down 70USc at $US1385.60 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Swiss franc up
The Swiss franc strengthened broadly, hitting a record high against the euro after Moody's Investors Service warned it was placing Portugal's credit rating on review for a possible downgrade.

The euro fell to a new record low at 1.2599 Swiss francs. The Swiss franc also hit a record high against the UK pound, which traded near 1.4811 francs, and sent the dollar to US session lows against the franc near 0.9585.

The euro was at $US1.3114 from $US1.3126 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥83.81 from ¥83.74. Sterling traded at $US1.5457 against the dollar, from $US1.5510. The dollar traded at 0.9589 Swiss franc from 0.9652.