Investors piled into U.S. stocks after a Portuguese government debt auction eased immediate worries about the euro zone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 93 points, or 0.8%, at 11765 in Wednesday afternoon trading, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 11 points, or 0.9%, to 1285 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17 points to 2734.

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European stocks rallied to a 52-week high and the euro jumped 1.2 % against the dollar after the Portuguese government sold EUR1.25 billion ($1.62 billion) in bonds in an auction at yields that were below market expectations.

The auction offered a dose of good news after days of mounting concern over Portugal's finances, with investors fretting that economic growth could be stunted if governments are forced to enact tougher austerity measures.

U.S.-listed shares of Spanish banking giant Banco Santander surged 11% and those of rival Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria gained 11%.

Bank shares also fared well in the U.S. as financials led the gains after Wells Fargo upgraded its assessment of the banking sector.

J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America were the best performers among the Dow components, gaining 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.

Citigroup gained 1.8%, Morgan Stanley added 2.3% and Wells Fargo itself gained 1.9%.

Leading on the downside was Alcoa, the biggest decliner on the Dow, off 0.6%.

The market also was responding to another step up in U.S. import prices in December, rounding out their biggest three-month gain in over a year on the back of resurgent energy prices.

The price of imported goods rose 1.1% in December, following an upwardly revised 1.5% increase in November, versus an initial estimate of 1.3%.

The numbers suggest that fears of inflation could begin to creep into the market, ahead of producer and consumer price index numbers in the coming days.

European Markets

Stocks in Spain and Greece surged 5% Wednesday, leading a broad-based European market rally as a successful Portuguese bond auction allayed near-term fears about the spread of the euro-zone debt crisis.

A top European official said the region's bailout fund should be strengthened, further boosting sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.4% to end at 285.79 points, hitting its highest level since September 2008.

Spanish, Greek and Italian stocks posted particularly strong gains after Portugal successfully sold EUR1.25 billion of government bonds.

The financial sector rallied across the continent.

In Athens, the ASE Composite stock index soared 5%, with shares of National Bank of Greece up nearly 8%.

In Madrid, the IBEX 35 index surged 5.4% to 10,101.20, with Banco Santander and rival BBVA both up 10%.

And Italy's FTSE MIB index rose 3.8% to 21,116.30, with banking giant UniCredit SpA rallying 9.7% and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA soaring 10%.

In Portugal, the PSI 20 index rose 2.6%, helped by a 3.3% gain for retailer Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA which reported a 19% increase in annual sales.

Aerospace group EADS NV rose 2.1% in Paris after its Airbus unit announced a record breaking order for 180 aircraft from Indian budget carrier IndiGo, helping lift the French CAC 40 index to a 2.2% higher close at 3,945.07.

In Germany, the DAX 30 index gained 1.8% to 7,068.78, led by a 4.3% rise for Deutsche Bank AG.

Rival Commerzbank AG gained 5.3%. The U.K. FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6% to 6,050.72, with shares of banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC up 3.8%.

Asian Markets

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note Wednesday as resource-sector shares got a lift from a higher finish on Wall Street and a jump in commodity prices Tuesday.

Despite the region-wide advance, sentiment remained cautious ahead of European sovereign bond auctions this week.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was flat, South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.5%, Taiwan's main index rose 0.4%, and the Shanghai Composite index was 0.6% higher.

Resource sector shares broadly advanced on higher commodity prices, with Aluminum Corp. of China up 1.9% in Hong Kong and 0.4% higher in Shanghai.

Several energy producers advanced after February crude-oil futures rose more than 2% in New York overnight. Cnooc climbed 1.6% and PetroChina Co. rose 1.9% in Hong Kong.

Chinese shares also got a lift from coal miners amid rising overseas oil prices on supply concerns and a weakened U.S. dollar.

Yanzhou Coal Mining rose 2.6% and China Coal gained 0.9% in Shanghai; in Hong Kong, they added 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively.

In Tokyo, banking shares outperformed the broader market on a general return of bullish market sentiment after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Tuesday for the first time in four sessions.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.6%, and Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group ended up 2.7%.

Base Metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, spurred by a stronger euro and signs that the economic landscape in Europe may be improving.

Portugal's bond auction Wednesday delivered encouraging results, as the country managed to sell the maximum planned EUR1.25 billion, although the yields weren't quite as high as the market had expected.

In addition, data from Europe showed industrial production beating expectations in November, rising 1.2% from October levels, compared with 0.5% previously forecast.

LME three-month copper traded up 1.9% at $9,690 a metric ton at the PM kerb close.

Crude futures extended early gains Wednesday, helped by a weakening dollar, after a government report showed a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery settled 75 cents higher at $91.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, hitting a new two-year high.

The U.S. Department of Energy said crude stocks declined by 2.2 million barrels last week, a larger drop than analysts had expected, as stockpiles have traditionally increased at the beginning of the year.

However, stockpiles of gasoline and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, rose, suggesting that the U.S. has plenty of fuel for consumption.

Gold futures settled modestly higher in a late reversal as lower prices enticed buyers and the dollar weakened further.

Gold for February delivery added $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,385.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $1,376.30 an ounce.

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