Google move sends Wall St stocks soaring

Stocks on Wall Street have wiped out last week's losses, boosted by a major deal involving Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility for $US12.5 billion in cash.

The takeover gave blue-chip stocks their first three-day winning streak in six weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 213.28 points, or 1.9%, to 11,482.30 at the close (8am NZ time).

The last three-day string of gains ended on July 1. Trading has grown increasingly volatile in recent weeks, amid worries of an economic slowdown and debt problems in the US and Europe.

The S&P 500 index was up 2.2%, to 1204.37, with utility, energy and financial stocks rising the most. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite has gained 1.9% to 2555.20.

Google's move, which boosted Motorola Mobilty shares by 55%, will enable it to compete more directly with Apple in the mobile-communications industry. It also gives Google a trove of coveted mobile-device patents. Google's shares lost 1.8%.

Other markets: Europe, Asia post gains
European stocks closed modestly higher as investors took the opportunity to snap up some bargains after last week's volatility.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 0.2% at 237.85. Last week, the index dropped to a two-year low of 217.37, while other European indexes jumped between losses and gains of around 3% on a daily basis.

The UK's FTSE 100 closed 0.6% higher at 5350.58. Germany's DAX ended up 0.4% at 6022.24 and France's CAC-40 increased 0.8% to 3239.06.

Asian stock markets posted solid gains after data showed that Japan's GDP contracted 1.3% in the second quarter, a much smaller drop than the 2.7% expected.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 3.3% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index ended the day with a 2.6% gain.

The Shanghai Composite Index finished 1.3% higher and Taiwan's Taiex climbed 2.4%. Korean and Indian markets were closed for holidays.

Commodities: Oil extends rebound, gold rises
Oil continued its rebound and breached $US87 a barrel, spurred by a rally in stocks and a falling dollar.

The crude-oil futures market is still regaining its footing after tumbling last Tuesday to $US75.71 a barrel, nearly a 10-month low.

That's a bounce of 15%, but questions remain over whether oil prices can stay buoyant in the face of data pointing to a weakening US economy.

Light, sweet crude-oil prices recently were 1.8% higher at $US86.95 a barrel after trading as high as $US87.49 in New York.

Gold snapped a two-day losing streak to finish higher on the weaker dollar.

The contract for August delivery settled up $US15.30, or 0.9%, at $US1755.50 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: US dollar retreats
The US dollar fell against the euro as traders shifted into riskier assets.

The euro rose to $1.4452 from $1.4249 late on Friday.

The dollar bought ¥76.77 from ¥76.69 late Friday. The U.K. pound was at $1.6388 from $1.6278. The dollar traded at 0.7842 Swiss franc from 0.7780 franc.

The euro traded at 1.1333 Swiss francs, after testing 1.1458 francs in earlier trading.