U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks rose sharply as investors cheered a pledge from France and Germany to resolve the euro zone's banking and sovereign-debt troubles. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 278 points, or 2.5%, to 11381. All 30 Dow components rose, with bank stocks leading the charge higher. Bank of America climbed 4.7% and J.P. Morgan Chase advanced 4.3%. The gains came after the blue chip index managed a 190-point rally last week.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 34 points, or 2.9%, to 1189. Each of the index's 10 sectors traded in positive territory, with energy, financial and material stocks posting the biggest gains. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 76 points, or 3.1%, to 2555. Stocks have surged since tumbling into bear-market territory last week, broadly considered a decline of 20% from a recent peak.

The S&P 500 has jumped 11% since hitting its most recent nadir on an intraday basis last Tuesday. Monday's action followed gains in European markets after German and French leaders said they would present measures to tackle the euro-zone banking and sovereign-debt crisis by the month end.

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They aim to recapitalize the banking sector where necessary and to strengthen the euro zone's rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were determined to have a comprehensive package by the end of October.

Europe should have its problems resolved before the summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in France, on Nov. 3-4, Sarkozy said. Investors also cheered news of a plan to address problems at the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, which includes the nationalization of the Belgian unit and a EUR90 billion ($120.4 billion) funding guarantee for the next 10 years.

The third-quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off after Tuesday's closing bell, when Dow component Alcoa reveals results. The aluminum company's stock rose 3%. In corporate news, Netflix said it will drop its plan to split its movie-streaming business and DVD-by-mail service into two separate websites, a move that had sparked an outcry among subscribers and sent its stock sharply lower. Shares dropped 2.1% after earlier rising nearly 10%.

EU Stocks

European stock markets were catapulted higher on hopes that European leaders can piece together a bailout package for Greece and limit fallout in the region's banking sector. Markets kicked off the week in an upbeat manner after news over the weekend that German and French leaders said they would present comprehensive measures to tackle the euro-zone banking and sovereign-debt crisis by the end of the month.

They aim to recapitalize the banking sector where necessary and to strengthen the euro zone's rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. Some expressed caution as while the plans were outlined, details were sparse, suggesting that Europe's two top economies continue to disagree over the plan's specifics. Still, the news helped the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index end up 1.7% at 235.94.

Among national indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index closed up 1.8% at 5399.00, while France's CAC-40 index closed 2.1% higher at 3161.47 and Germany's DAX index closed up 3.0% at 5847.29. These hopes helped banking stocks post gains together with news of a plan to address problems at the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, which includes the nationalization of the Belgian unit and a EUR90 billion funding guarantee for the next 10 years.

Dexia shares fell 4.7% in Brussels. In France, the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reportedly said BNP Paribas and Societe Generale would seek EUR7 billion and EUR3 billion-EUR4 billion, respectively, to shore up capital. In a statement, Societe Generale denied the report and reiterated plans for a Basel 3 core tier one ratio well above 9% by the end of 2013 without a capital increase. BNP Paribas also denied the report.

Shares of BNP Paribas erased early weakness to rise 3%, while Societe Generale gained 3.7% and shares of Credit Agricole rose 0.4%. Also helping the sector was news that an investment arm of China's sovereign-wealth fund, Central Huijin Investment, has bought shares in the banks on the Shanghai market.

The Stoxx Europe 600 banking index added 2.3% to 139.17. Meanwhile, Greek bank shares tumbled as the Bank of Greece announced it had activated the Financial Stability Fund to save small lender Proton Bank, effectively nationalizing it. Piraeus Bank plunged 17%, Alpha Bank sank 12% and National Bank of Greece slid 13%. The ASE Composite index in Athens lost 0.6%.

Asian Stocks

Asian stock markets ended mostly higher Monday after Germany and France said they agreed on a plan to support the European banking sector, even as losses for property and energy companies weighed in Hong Kong. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended with fractional gains, up 0.02%, following a late reversal. But mainland Chinese investors returned from a week-long holiday to push the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.6%.

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday Monday. Investors were given a fresh reminder of Europe's debt problems Friday after Italy and Spain were downgraded by credit agencies, with the move taking the shine off better than expected jobs data from the U.S. Still, European leaders worked to reassure markets they were moving toward a solution to the region's debt crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said over the weekend they had reached an agreement to strengthen the European banking system. In Hong Kong, PetroChina lost 1.4%, while China Petroleum & Chemical, also known as Sinopec, fell 4.4%.

China cut prices for gasoline and diesel fuel Sunday. The price cuts were reportedly the first since June 2010. Sinopec, meanwhile, struck a deal to buy Canadian oil-and-gas producer Daylight Energy for C$2.2 billion ($2.12 billion), the Toronto-listed firm said Sunday. Selected property firms lost ground, with China Overseas Land & Investment down 3.5%, and Evergrande Real Estate Group down 7.0%. Chinese house prices in September posted their first month-on-month decline this year.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 1.6%, extending gains made last week, when the firm issued better than expected third-quarter operating profit guidance. LG Electronics rose 2.6%, while Hynix Semiconductor climbed 2.1%.

Commodities

Base metals closed firmly higher on the London Metal Exchange Monday as they and the euro, together with world equity markets, received a strong boost from the latest round of talks aimed at resolving the European debt crisis. LME three-month copper closed the day at $7,494 a metric ton, up 1.7% on Friday's close.

Oil futures settled higher for the fourth straight day Monday amid light holiday trading, as hopes for increased euro-zone financial stability buoyed the market. Light, sweet crude for November delivery settled up $2.43, or 2.9%, at $85.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe exchange were up $3.07, or 2.9%, at $108.95 a barrel. Gold futures rallied more than 2% as buyers from China buoyed prices while a more hopeful outlook on Europe soothed fears of a Greek default. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, settled $35.00, or 2.1%, higher at $1,670.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thinly traded October-delivery gold rose $35.10, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,669.60 a troy ounce.

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