Asian, European Shares Follow Dow Higher
NEW YORK (
) -- A triple-digit gain for the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
led Asian and European shares higher Wednesday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average gained 2.7% to 10,306.83. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished 1.3% higher on Wednesday. Markets in China are closed for the week for the Lunar New Year holiday.
London stocks gained 0.6%, while shares in Frankfurt and Paris were rising 1% and 1.6%, respectively, as of 5:45 a.m. EST.
The Dow rose 169.67 points, or 1.7%, to 10,268.81 on Tuesday. The
S&P 500
index rose 19.36, or 1.8%, to 1,094.87, while the
Nasdaq
index climbed 30.66, or 1.4%, to 2,214.19.
Markets were buoyed Tuesday by good earnings reports from the likes of
Kraft
(KFT)
,
Merck
(MRK) - Get Report
and
Abercrombie & Fitch
(ANF) - Get Report
. And problems in Greece, that have befuddled investors recently, have abated somewhat after Eurozone countries gave Greece a month to show improvement in its high debt levels.
Reports from
Hewlett-Packard
(HPQ) - Get Report
and
NetApp
(NTAP) - Get Report
are scheduled for release after the market closes Wednesday.
Premarket futures in the U.S. suggest stocks will open higher on Wall Street Wednesday.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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