World markets: Commodities, shares rise ahead of Easter

Stocks on Wall Street bounced back ahead of the Easter break as oil and other commodities rallied on positive economic reports from the US, Asia and Europe.

Investors cheered news of a drop in US weekly jobless claims and an upbeat national manufacturing survey from the Institute of Supply Management.

It reported an expanded sector for an eighth straight month in March, with its index of activity rising to 59.6%, topping expectations.

After climbing to an intraday high of 10,956.30, its highest level since late September 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 70.44 points, or 0.7%, to 10,927.07, a 0.7% gain for the week.

Aluminum giant Alcoa rose 3.2%, fronting gains that extended to 24 of the blue-chip index's 30 components.

The S&P 500 index ended up 8.67 points, or 0.7%, to 1178.10, a 1% rise for the week. Gains in materials and energy shares led the advance on the broad index, which on Wednesday ended its best quarter in 11 years.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.62 points, or 0.2%, to end at 2402.58, a 0.3% gain for the week. Shares of Research in Motion weighed on technology shares for most of the session after the BlackBerry-maker's profit, revenue, and product shipment came in below market expectations.

Other markets

Canadian stocks ended higher, supported by energy and metals shares. Suncor Energy closed up 3.9% while Canadian Natural Resources advanced 4.1%. RIM yielded more territory to end down 8.2%, battered by disappointing results and outlook.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 0.9% to close at 12,151, recovering from Wednesday's marginal losses.

European shares ended higher, helped by an improvement in manufacturing data from Europe, China and the UK. Manufacturing activity across the 16-nation euro zone expanded at the fastest clip since June 2006 in the same month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.3% to end at 267.02, extending gains from the first quarter when the index rose around 4%.

Miners took the lead with Rio Tinto rising 2.6% and Anglo American climbing 2.5%.
The UK FTSE 100 index rose 1.15% to 5744.89 after activity in the manufacturing sector last month accelerated at its fastest pace since October 1994.

The German DAX index rose 1.33% to 6235.56 and the French CAC-40 advanced 1.5% to 4034.23.

Asian markets surged, with Japan's major stock index closing at a new 18-month high after a strong trading debut by Dai-ichi Life Insurance and data showing improved business sentiment.

Signs of a pickup in manufacturing activity boosted shares in China.

Dai-ichi Life's $US11.2 billion initial public offering, the world's biggest in two years, topped its IPO price by 14%.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies rose 1.4%, to end at 11,244.40.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.7% higher and South Korea's Kospi Composite was up 1.6%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.4% higher, while Taiwan's main index and the Shanghai Composite both added 1.2%.

Malaysian shares were up 0.1%, Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 1.7% and India's Sensex was up 0.7%.

Commodities: Oil, gold up

Oil futures rose for a fourth session to to nearly $US85 a barrel.

Oil for May delivery, the most active contract, settled $US1.11 higher, or 1.3%, to $US84.87 a barrel in New York, the highest since October 2008.

Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, rose $US11.60, or 1%, to settle at $US1126.10 an ounce. It advanced 1.7% in the first quarter of the year, the sixth quarterly rise.

Currencies: Dollar down, euro up

The US dollar fell against the euro but rose to a seven-month high versus the yen on bullish data on the employment and manufacturing fronts.

The dollar buys ¥93.87, up about 0.3%, and touched ¥94.01 earlier, the highest on a closing basis since August 26.

The euro changed hands at $US1.3584, up from $US1.3512 late on Wednesday.

The UK pound rose 0.7% to buy $US1.5288.