Wall Street stocks advanced on Tuesday as Greek election polls pointed to support for pro-bailout parties, overshadowing weak US consumer confidence.
Facebook shares fall to a new low below $US30 and have lost almost a quarter of their value since the company's high profile flotation two weeks ago.
The Dow Jones Index rose 126 points, or 1%, to finish at 12,581.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 33 points, or 1.1%, to 2871.
The FTSE 100 in London rose for the fourth consecutive day, although traders said the rally could be short-lived due to persistent fears over the region's debt troubles. The index closed up 0.7% at 5,391 - its highest in a week.
The DAX in Frankfurt added 1.1% and the CAC-40 in Paris rose 1.4%.
The Australian 200 Index rose 46 points, or 1.1%, to close at 4114 on Tuesday and the NZX 50 rose 16 points, or 0.5%, to 3478.
At 8.230am on Wednesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 76.30 US cents, 77.48 Australian cents, 48.80 pence, 60.64 yen and 0.6104 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 69.90.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US108.25 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1552.30 per ounce.
