US Markets

Energy and telecommunications companies led gains for U.S. stocks as investors looked to push the market higher for the seventh session in nine, ahead of critical data later this week on unemployment and manufacturing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 84 points, or 0.7%, to 12281 in late trading, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained eight points to 1319.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

The Nasdaq Composite gained 24 points to 2755. The gains were largely powered by telecom stocks, which surged on continued optimism about consolidation in the industry after AT&T's bid for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA. A deal would create the country's largest phone carrier. AT&T gained 1.8%, and Verizon Communications added 1.7%.

Sprint Nextel, the purported loser in an AT&T merger with T-Mobile, tumbled 4.6%. Armiger pointed to high dividend yields that are attractive to investors looking to switch out of their bond positions. Also strong Tuesday was Home Depot, which surged 2.9% to lead the Dow components after the home improvement retailer said it planned to repurchase $1 billion of its shares through an accelerated share-buyback program. All of the S&P 500's 10 sectors were in positive territory, with energy stocks leading the way as oil edged up towards $105 a barrel. Chevron gained 1.2%, while Exxon Mobil added 0.4%. Adding to investor confidence was the latest reading of the Conference Board's consumer-confidence index, which fell 8.6 points to 63.4 in March from the previous month, a smaller decline than expected. Consumer-discretionary stocks rallied on the news. The stock gains came ahead of a three-day run that will feature private-sector payrolls Wednesday, initial jobless claims Thursday and the all-important monthly nonfarm payrolls figure Friday, as well as monthly manufacturing data.

European Markets

The broad European share index finished little changed Tuesday, while the Italian market posted steep losses on weakness in the banking sector. The Stoxx Europe 600 index inched up 0.1% to end at 276.51, following a gain of 0.08% in the prior session. Sentiment was hurt late in the European session after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Portugal's sovereign debt to BBB- from BBB, leaving it just one notch above junk status, with a negative outlook. The agency also cut Greece's rating to BB- from BB+.

In Athens, the ASE Composite sank 2% following the news. Shares of Piraeus Bank SA fell 5.8%, while National Bank of Greece SA tumbled 3.9%, and Alpha Bank SA fell 1.6%.

In Portugal, the PSI 20 index lost 0.2% to 7,817.3. Shares of Banco Espirito Santo fell 2.3%. The biggest loser on the Stoxx 600 was Italian bank UBI Banca, shares of which tumbled more than 12%. Late Monday, it reported a fourth-quarter net loss and said it would increase share capital by as much as EUR1 billion. The news weighed on other Italian banks, with Banca Popolare di Milano falling 7.1%, Banco Popolare SC down 6.9%, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA 4.5% lower and UniCredit SpA down 3.7%.

The FTSE MIB index sank 1% to 21,780.8 in Milan. Elsewhere in the banking sector, shares of Commerzbank AG fell 4.3% in Frankfurt, with observers citing speculation that the German bank may be gearing up for a capital hike. The DAX 30 index fell 0.1% to 6,934.4. Banks were also weak in Paris, where Natixis SA fell 1.8%. However, the French CAC 40 index closed up 0.3% at 3,987.80, as shares of car maker Renault SA rallied 2.4%. Groupe Eurotunnel SA, which rose 4.2% after Morgan Stanley lifted the shares to overweight from equalweight, was among the top gainers for the Stoxx 600. Oil major BP PLC fell 2.2%, keeping a lid on gains on the FTSE 100 index, which rose 0.5% to 5,932.17.

Asian Markets

Japanese stocks fell further Tuesday, hit by rising concerns over radioactive leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant, while Indian stocks rose for a sixth straight session as a fall in crude-oil prices eased worries about inflation. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended down 0.2% at 9459.08 as investors digested news of a setback in resolving the nuclear crisis after Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, said that plutonium had been detected in samples of soil from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Investors were nervous about a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun, which cited multiple government sources as saying that Tokyo was considering temporarily nationalizing Tepco to facilitate its reconstruction. A government spokesman, however, said in a televised press conference that no government entity was studying any plan to nationalize the company. Tepco shares still slumped another 15% to end at 566 yen ($6.93), their lowest on record.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% to 2958.08 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended little changed at 23060.36. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 2072.13, Taiwan's main index gained 0.5% to 8596.57 and India's Sensex rose 0.9% to 19120.80. In Taiwan, Acer continued its slide, falling 6.9% as more brokers downgraded the stock after the world's second largest personal-computer maker by shipment revised down its first-quarter revenue guidance Friday. Compal Electronics lost 2.6% in Taipei. Some Chinese banks continued their rally in a choppy market in Shanghai after the sector's earnings season got off to a bright start last week. China Merchants Bank rose 0.6% and Agricultural Bank of China added 0.7%.

Base Metals & Oil

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and easing fears over U.S. monetary tightening, though a sustained moved higher may be limited in the short term, said market players. At the PM kerb close, LME three-month copper traded up 0.5% at $9,580 a metric ton. The release of weaker than expected U.S. consumer confidence data provided an unexpected boost for the base metals Tuesday, as the dollar lost ground and fears of monetary tightening measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve faded somewhat.

Oil futures climbed Tuesday, lifted by doubts over the resumption of Libyan crude exports and a stock market rally. Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled up 81 cents, or 0.8%, at $104.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently traded up 46 cents, or 0.4%, to $115.26 a barrel. Comex gold futures ended slightly lower as stronger equities markets fed investor appetite for risk and overshadowed the yellow metal's appeal as a safe haven. The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, settled down 0.3%, or $3.70, at $1,416.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. wheat futures closed higher on concerns dryness in the Plains will reduce the next harvest. CBOT May wheat ended up 12c at $7.37 1/4 a bushel, KCBT May climbed 18 1/2c to $8.67 and MGE May rose 13 1/4c to $8.88 1/4.

More from IBT Markets:
Newsletter: To receive Global Markets update, sign up here

Supplied by Morrison Securities