A rebound in energy stocks boosted stocks on Wall Street, while US home and car sales data also helped lift sentiment.Pending home sales in April rose more than expected while vehicle sales for May were also higher for all brands.The Dow Jones Industrial
A rebound in energy stocks boosted stocks on Wall Street, while US home and car sales data also helped lift sentiment.
Pending home sales in April rose more than expected while vehicle sales for May were also higher for all brands.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 225.52 points, or 2.25%, higher at 10,249.54, with all of its components in the black.
Walt Disney led the measure's gains, up 3.6%, after chief executive Robert Iger said it's too early to discount the ability of media companies to derive revenue from emerging new-media platforms.
Hewlett-Packard rose 2.4% after the company received antitrust approval to acquire Palm.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.6% to 2281.07 and the S&P 500 index was also up 2.6% to 1098.39, with all its sectors in the black, led by the energy and materials sectors.
The energy sector's gains came as crude-oil futures rose above $US73 a barrel.
American depositary shares of BP rose 2%, erasing part of their Tuesday tumble, which came as the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Other energy stocks bounced back from Tuesday's sharp declines. Halliburton jumped 11.1%, Smith International rose 8.1% and Schlumberger rose 7.7%.
Other markets: Europe steady, Asia down
European stocks ended flat, with early gains on Wall Street boosting regional indexes off earlier lows.
The US government’s decision to launch a criminal inquiry into BP's handling of the oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico also dented sentiment.
BP shares closed 0.1% lower at 430p in London, rebounding from earlier lows of around 415p.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1% higher at 245.40, its fifth gain in six sessions, but the UK’s FTSE 100 ended 0.2% lower at 5151.32. France`s CAC-40 was off 0.1% at 3501.50 for its fourth consecutive loss, while Germany’s DAX closed down 0.1% to 5981.20, snapping a five-session winning streak.
Japanese shares finished lower after a sharp morning climb on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s resignation. The Nikkei Stock Average closed down 1.1% at 9603.24, retreating from an intraday high of 9763.41.
Elsewhere, markets were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% to 19471.80 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.7% to 4381.03, both pulling back after early gains.
China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1% to 2571.42, while Taiwan's Taiex declined 1.3% to 7195.71. India's Sensex climbed 1% to 16741.84.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Oil futures rose on the stronger US house sales data. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 88USc, or 1.2%, to $US73.42 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 86USc, or 1.2%, higher at $US73.57 a barrel.
Gold futures slipped as the US dollar gained after Japan's prime minister resigned.
Gold for August delivery in New York fell $US6.20, or 0.5%, to $US1220.70 an ounce.
Currencies: Dollar up, yen down
The dollar traded mostly higher, gaining ground in particular on a broadly weaker Japanese yen.
The yen slipped against both the dollar and the euro, with the political turmoil in Tokyo serving to undermine the Japanese currency's safe-haven status.
The dollar bought ¥92.24, up from ¥91.02 late on Tuesday, while one euro bought ¥112.54, up from ¥111.40.
Meanwhile, the euro traded at $US1.2200, down from $US1.2236 on Tuesday.
