Stocks on Wall St rallied on Monday, as optimism grows that an agreement between French and German leaders will break new ground to resolve the euro zone debt crisis.
President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Paris and said a proposed agreement between the two countries will be sent to EU officials on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Index was up 77 points, or 1.2%, at 12,096. The Nasdaq Composite was up 27 points, or 1.6%, at 2655.
The FTSE 100 in London had a five-week closing high, gaining 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.2% and the DAX in Frankfurt rose 0.4%.
The Australian 200 Index rose 33 points to close at 4321. The NZX 50 gained 19 points to close at 3301.
At 8.15am on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 77.94 US cents, 75.95 Australian cents, 49.82 pence, 60.67 yen and 0.5819 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 68.95.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US111.94 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1729 per ounce.
