Stocks recapture 10,000 on Dow as Wall Street surges

Stocks on Wall Street surged, lifting the Dow back over the 10,000 mark where it slipped below in the previous session for only the second time this year.

The main booster for investors came from China, which said it wasn't planning to sell its European bond holdings. Separately, Spain approved additional budget cuts, easing concerns about euro-zone debt.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 284.54 points, or 2.8%, to finish at 10,258.99. All the Dow's components rose except Johnson & Johnson, which slipped 0.2%.

Intel was the strongest Dow performer in percentage terms, up 4.9%. Alcoa and American Express were also strong, up more than 4% each.

Microsoft rose 3.8% erasing some of its losses from Wednesday, when the software giant's market capitalisation slipped below rival Apple's. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said he was focused more on launching new products and improving profitability than worrying about being below Apple's market cap.

Apple, which isn't a Dow component, rose 3.1%.

The S&P 500-stock index rocketed 3.3% to 1103.06, well above the 1090 level it struggled to top in the previous session.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 3.7% to 2277.68, putting it back into positive territory for 2010.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up

European stocks rose more than 3% in line with a strong market recovery as concerns eased about conflict on the Korean peninsula and China denied it was mulling the sale of European bond holdings.

The euro also got a boost after the Spanish parliament approved €15 billion of austerity measures.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended up 3% at 244.79. The U.'s FTSE 100 closed up 3.1% at 5195.17, Germany's DAX rose 3.1% to 5937.14 and France's CAC-40 gained 3.4% to 3525.31.

Asian stock markets closed solidly higher as investors scooped up recently battered shares ranging from Australian miners to Chinese banks and South Korean technology stocks.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.2% to 9639.72, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.7% to 4379.17, China's Shanghai Composite added 1.1% to 2655.92, South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.6% to 1607.50, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.2% to 19431.37, India's Sensex gained 1.7% to 16666.40, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 1.6% to 2739.70 and Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.1% to 7243.16.

Indonesia's JSX, which shot up 7.3% on Wednesday for its highest percentage gain on record, advanced a further 0.6% to 2713.92.

Commodities: Oil up, gold down

Crude oil futures rose to a two-week high as investors poured back into riskier markets.

Futures have risen 8.4% over the last two days as the debt crises in Greece and Spain began to look less dire for the world economy than suggested by oil's $US20-a-barrel, three-week plunge.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled $US3.04, or 4.3%, higher at $US74.55 a barrel in New York.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled $US2.92, or 4.1%, higher at $US74.66 a barrel. Gold futures snapped their three-day winning streak when some of the recent safe-haven buying dissipated as equities rallied sharply.

Gold for June delivery in New York fell $US1.50, or 0.1%, to $US1211.90 an ounce. The August contract, which now has the most open positions, slipped 90USc, or 0.1%, to $US1214.40.

Currencies: Euro up; dollar, yen down

The euro rose off a four-year low against the dollar after China denied it was reviewing its holdings of euro-zone debt.

A strong rebound in stocks on Wall Street boosted currencies closely tied to global growth prospects, with the Australian dollar shooting up more than 3.6% and the Canadian dollar soaring nearly 3.2% against the greenback.

As a consequence, investors shifted away from the safety of the dollar and yen. Tthe euro was at $US1.2389 from $US1.2193 late on Wednesday. The dollar was at ¥90.98 from ¥89.94, while the euro was at ¥112.71 from ¥109.66.

The UK pound was at $US1.4597 from $US1.4393.