Wall Street stocks ended markedly higher as big retailers kicked off the critical pre-Christmas shopping season with discounts aimed at persuading consumers to keep spending.
The Dow Jones finished a half day of trading up a notable 1.4% at a preliminary close of 12,980. The Nasdaq jumped 1.3% to 2,597.
The market rebound followed sharp falls on Wednesday ahead of yesterday's Thanksgiving Day holiday. Investors are closely tracking Black Friday retail sales for indications of whether US consumers are continuing to splurge or cutting back their spending amid a housing downturn and a related credit squeeze.
Across the Atlantic, Europe's main stock markets closed higher at the end of a turbulent week which saw global equities rocked by fears over a US economic slowdown.
In London the FTSE 100 closed up 1.7% 6,262, in Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.9% to end the day at 5,521 points and in Frankfurt the DAX closed 0.6% higher at 7,608.96. The European single currency stood at $1.4831, after earlier striking a record high point of $1.4967. Investor sentiment in Asia was subdued with Tokyo closed on Friday for a public holiday.
In London, the mining sector was in focus, with Vedanta storming ahead as bid rumours swirled around the group. Vedanta's share price topped the FTSE leaders board, leaping 7.1% to 2,036 pence. Antofagasta shares were also jolted 7.1% higher and Anglo American surged 6.1%. In the airline sector, flagship carriers extended yesterday's gains, which were sparked by a strong second-quarter earnings report from Air France-KLM. The airline’s shares soared 2.9% today.
Dublin's ISEQ index also rallied, gaining 4.4% or 281 points to stand at 6,624. The banks were stronger, with AIB up 89 cent to €13.84 and Bank of Ireland gaining 87 to €9.77 while Irish Life and Permanent was up 54 to €11.80. Shares in DCC were up 66 cent to €17.25 after it said it had bought a UK-based medical products company for €16m.
