Stocks on Wall Street rose, boosted by a jump in sales of existing US homes and a weekend pledge by global finance ministers that calmed fears of a currency war.
Residential sales rose a more than expected 10% to an annual rate of 4.53 million in Septemb
Stocks on Wall Street rose, boosted by a jump in sales of existing US homes and a weekend pledge by global finance ministers that calmed fears of a currency war.
Residential sales rose a more than expected 10% to an annual rate of 4.53 million in September.
In Korea at the weekend, Group of 20 finance ministers vowed to avoid "competitive devaluation" of their currencies while curbing their external imbalances.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 31.49 points, or 0.3%, higher at 11,164.05, extending three straight weeks of gains.
Materials and industrials led the Dow as a weaker dollar boosted companies with more exports. DuPont gained 1.9%, Alcoa rose 1.3% and Caterpillar added 0.9%.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 2490.85 and the S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 1185.62.
Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks closed mostly higher, boosted by the basic-resources sector, which gained ground as the US dollar fell against major currencies.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index closed up 0.3% at 267.42. The UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 5751.98, France's CAC-40 was little changed at 3870, and Germany's DAX gained 0.5% to 6639.21.
Asian sharemarkets rose, fuelled by the Singapore Exchange's $A8.4 billion takeover bid for ASX. Japanese stocks retreated, with exporters losing ground as the yen climbed to another 15-year high versus the US dollar.
Chinese stocks were also lifted by hopes of strong corporate earnings. The Shanghai Composite rose 2.6% to 3051.42,
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3% to 4709.99, Korea's Kospi rose 1% to 1915.71, Taiwan's Taiex ended 1.7% higher at 8306.98 and Indonesia's JSX Composite rose 1.3% to close at 3643.49.
Markets in New Zealand, Thailand and the Philippines were closed for public holidays.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude futures moved higher, supported by continued weakness in the dollar, but retreated from intraday highs over $83 a barrel.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery settled 83USc, or 1.0%, higher at $US832.52 in New York.
Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 58USc up at $US83.54 a barrel.
Gold futures climbed more than 1%, rebounding from last week’s losses as weakness in the US dollar lured investors back to the precious-metals sector.
Gold for December delivery climbed $US13.80, or 1.0%, to settle at $US1338.90 an ounce in New York. The contract earlier hit an intraday high of $US1349.50.
Currencies: Dollar, euro up
The US dollar erased some of its earlier losses against the major currencies after housing data helped stem a negative tide created by the G20 statement.
The euro was at $US1.3970 from $US1.3929 late on Friday. The dollar was at ¥80.69 from ¥81.36, while the euro was at ¥112.73 from ¥113.46. The UK pound was at $US1.5740 from $US1.5681. The dollar was at 0.9706 Swiss franc from 0.9796 franc.
