World markets update

US STOCKS rose yesterday as sentiment swung towards hope European officials would find a way to cut Greece’s debt and shore up European banks.

Shares rallied to session highs in the afternoon after a report said a plan to leverage money from the European Financial Stability Facility was in the works.

But investors were reluctant to make long-term commitments because of conflicting reports about whether European officials were preparing for bold action to solve the crisis. Markets have been sensitive to efforts to cauterize the eurozone’s credit crisis that has Greece teetering near a default. Last week, the Dow saw its biggest weekly loss since October 2008.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 272.38 points, or 2.53 per cent, at 11,043.86. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 26.52 points, or 2.33 per cent, at 1,162.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 33.46 points, or 1.35 per cent, at 2,516.69.

The CBOE Market Volatility index fell 4.8 per cent but remains up 24 per cent for the month.

Financial shares were among the session’s best performers. JPMorgan Chase advanced 7 per cent to $31.65, while Citigroup gained 7 per cent to $26.72.

However, gains on the Nasdaq were limited after a report on Apple suggested the tech firm was cutting back on some key orders. Apple fell 0.3 per cent to $403.17 after an analyst said the iPhone maker was cutting orders from suppliers of parts for its iPad tablet. The tech bellwether fell as much as 3.2 per cent earlier in the session.

Boeing provided a major lift to the Dow a day after the manufacturer delivered its long-awaited Dreamliner jet to its first airline customer. The stock rose 4.2 per cent to $62.01.