Dawn Chorus: US equities gain as European concerns ease

Wall Street advanced on Wednesday as concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis eased and investors shrugged off the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which reported a slowdown in the US economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46 points, or 0.45%, at 10,387. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added seven points, or 0.64%, at 1,099. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 20 points, or 0.9%, at 2,229.

The stocks rallied after a successful Portuguese debt offering and news that the nationalised Irish bank Anglo Irish Bank would wind down assets.

Investors shrugged off Fed’s Beige Book report showing “economic growth at a moderate pace” at five regional banks, while two pointing to “positive developments or net improvements.” The remaining five banks said conditions were mixed or decelerating.

Financial companies led the gains in the S&P 500, rising 1.1% as a group. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. rose at least 1.2%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gained 1.6%.

In other company news, Huntington Bancshares Inc. surged 5.29% and Apple gained 2% as UBS, which has a “buy” rating for the company, raised its share-price estimate to $350 from $340. In the energy sector, BP rose 3.2% after it released its internal investigation into the causes of the rig blast that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In Europe, shares climbed in response to Portugal's successful raising of $1.32 billion in the debt market. The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 1% higher at 1,072 points. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks was up 0.4%, reversing earlier losses. The FTSE 100 index was 0.4% higher, Germany's DAX was up 0.8% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.9%.

Asian shares are treading higher today in response to the positive news from Europe and weakened Japanese yen.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 0.8% at 11 a.m. in Tokyo, after falling 2.2% yesterday. South Korea’s Kospi index was down 0.04% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.7%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.5% to 121 points.

In China, Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.11%, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index up 0.5% at 10 a.m. local time.