A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – Wall Street closed higher following solid economic data and reports that the International Monetary Fund could get more cash to help countries struggling with debts.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.88 points or 0.8% to 12,578.95. The S&P 500 index closed up 14.37 points or 1.1% to 1,308.04, while the Nasdaq rose 41.63 points, or 1.5%, to 2,769.71.
The Federal Reserve said manufacturing rose 0.9 per cent in December, the biggest increase since December 2010. Output surged as companies bought more machines and materials.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, said the fund was looking at ways to increase its capacity, partly to deal with Europe’s debt crisis.
LONDON – Markets were volatile on Wednesday as Greece prepared to resumed talks on a crucial debt write-off deal and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it would raise new money to increase its financial firepower.
Following a breakdown of talks last Friday, investors remain nervous about what may happen in discussions between Greece and the Institute of International Finance, which represents private sector bondholders.
The hope is that an agreement will be reached to reduce the country’s crushing debt burden. The fear is that the talks fail and Greece won’t be able to service its debts and be forced to default, potentially triggering more turmoil in global markets.
In Europe, the CAC-40 in France closed down 0.2 per cent at 3,264.93 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent to 6,354.57. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares ended 0.2 per cent higher at 5,702.37.
In the currency markets, the euro remained well-supported as it rebounded off 17-month dollar lows. It was trading 0.6 per cent higher at $US1.2814.
HONG KONG – Asian markets mostly rose on Wednesday, extending the previous day’s rally thanks to upbeat US and German data as well as successful bond auctions in Spain and Greece.
However, eurozone fears continued to cast a shadow while financial plays were weighed by disappointing earnings from banking giant Citi.
Tokyo rose 0.99 per cent, or 84.18 points, at 8,550.58, while Sydney and Seoul both ended flat. Sydney’s benchmark index nudged up 2.3 points to 4,217.9 while Seoul dipped 0.35 points to 1,892.39.
Hong Kong was 0.30 per cent, or 59.17 points, higher at 19,686.92 while Shanghai, which surged more than four per cent on Tuesday, shed 1.39 per cent, or 32.00 points, to close at 2,266.38.
WELLINGTON – Wellington rose 0.39 per cent, or 12.70 points, to 3,247.50.
Fletcher Building was up 2.0 per cent at NZ$6.08 and Telecom gained 3.25 per cent to NZ$2.065.
