US Stocks rallied Tuesday after Home Depot's results and forecast and a few bright spots in the day's housing market report gave investors a reason to dip back into the market after a two-session retreat.
After losing more than 250 points in the last two sessions, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 82 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 10 points, or 1%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 25 points, or 1.3%.
Stocks slipped for two straight sessions, with the major gauges each losing over 3% on worries that a struggling consumer could pressure an already fragile recovery.
Some analysts are saying "There's going to be a lot of volatility day-to-day as we try to figure out how much economic growth we're going to have. There is going to be some trading opportunities in the next few weeks, but we've put in a short-term top at 1000 or 1010 on the S&P 500 and we need a short-term catalyst to get through it,"
LONDON - European stock markets closed higher, recovering some of the ground lost in the previous day's heavy sell-off.
London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 40.77 points, or 0.88 per cent, to 4685.78 points.
FRANKFURT - The DAX put on 49.13 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 5250.74.
PARIS - The CAC 40 rose 31 points, or 0.91 per cent to 3450.69.
The Australian share market has received generally positive leads from overnight trading, with all three key Wall Street indices finishing higher, along with oil and gold.
At 0705 AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was 23 points higher at 4378.
Reserve Bank assistant governor Malcolm Edey delivers a speech. Earnings results are expected from Woodside, Qantas, Amcor, CSL and Dominos. In the US, no major data is released.
Oil prices rebounded strongly in line with firmer stock markets and a weaker dollar.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, gained $US2.44 to settle at $US69.19 a barrel.
Gold up $3.40 to US$939.20 an ounce Silver down 1.5c to US$13.96 an ounce Copper down 0.9c at US$2.7615 a pound
One of the Common Mistakes Made by Investors (Buying on tips and rumours. Most rumours are false and even if a tip is correct, the stock still often falls in price)
