US jobless claims, better trade data buoy stocks on Wall St

A drop in US jobless claims to their lowest point in four months and a sharp contraction in the trade deficit has helped stocks on Wall Street rebound from earlier session losses.

Global economic concerns continue to weigh on investors' minds ahead of the G-20 summit, which will focus on currency and trade issues.

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by a greater-than-expected 24,000 to 435,000, the lowest level in four months, while exports hit their highest level in a little over two years.

Overall sales abroad expanded in September by 0.3% to $US154.10 billion, the most since August 2008, and imports fell 1.0% to $US198.10 billion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.29, or 0.1%, to 11,357.04 at the close (10am NZ time). The S&P 500 index was up 0.4% at 1218.71 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5% at 2578.78.

Energy stocks helped lead the recovery as oil shot to $US87.81 a barrel, a fresh two-year high. Chevron, which declined on Tuesday after its agreement to buy Atlas Energy, rose steadily throughout the day to add $1.9% by the close.

Exxon Mobil gained 0.7% as government data showed a continuing decline in oil and fuel stockpiles. Financial stocks were also strong. Citigroup gained 2.8%, Bank of America 2.4% and JP Morgan Chase rose 1.8%.

Earlier, Boeing plunged 3.4% after a 787 Dreamliner made an emergency landing in south Texas after the crew reported smoke in the cabin. The emergency is the latest setback for the Dreamliner, which is running nearly three years behind its original schedule.

Other markets: Europe down, Asia mixed
European stock markets dropped as concerns escalated over sovereign-debt problems in the euro zone.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% to close at 271.48, giving back all of the gains earned in the previous session. On Tuesday it ended at 273.46, a closing high for 2010 and the highest closing value since September 2008.

Lower metals prices put pressure on the FTSE 100 index, which ended 1% lower at 5816.94. The German DAX 30 index fell 1% to end at 6719.84, a day after marking a new 2010 closing high and a new 52-week high, while the CAC-40 index slipped 1.5% to close at 3888.45.

Japanese banks led the Tokyo market higher but other Asian markets ended mixed as worries about more policy tightening hit Chinese stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 1.4% higher at 9830.52, its highest finish in more than four months, while Korea's Kospi climbed 1.1% to 1967.85.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.9% to 24500.61, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3115.36 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.9% to 4699.81.

Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude-oil prices climbed after the US Department of Energy reported oil and fuel stockpiles declined last week, continuing a nearly two-month slide from 27-year highs.

The light, sweet crude-oil futures contract for December delivery settled $US1.09, or 1.3%, up at $US87.81 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange added 63USc, or 0.7%, to $US88.96 a barrel.

Gold prices plunged below $US1400 as the US dollar strengthened, hitting demand for the precious metal as a currency hedge. Earlier in the week, gold peaked at $US1424.30 an ounce.

The most actively traded gold futures contract, for December delivery, settled $US10.80, or 0.8%, lower at $US1399 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Dollar up, euro down
The euro slumped below $US1.37 to the weakest point in more than a month before rebounding slightly as European issues of sovereign debt again came to the forefront.

The euro fell to $US1.3716 from $1.3778 late on Tuesday, after hitting $1.3671 intraday. The dollar strengthened to ¥82.58 from ¥81.83. The euro strengthened to ¥113.27 from ¥112.75.

The UK pound advanced to $US1.6063 from $US1.5989 while the dollar inched up to 0.9738 Swiss franc from 0.9683 franc.