Asian Markets are set for small rise on opening after U.S. stocks advanced, as European leaders discussed shoring up the region’s currency and investors awaited the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 32.77 points higher, or 0.27%, at 12392.70 with industrials leading the gains while tech stocks fell after recent strength. The S&P500 rose 2.89 points, or 0.23%, to 1280.70, while the Nasdaq rose 2.34 points or 0.09%.
Equities rose as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy sought to craft a plan for rescuing the euro over the next three months. Euro-area leaders may complete their new budget rulebook by Jan. 30, one month ahead of schedule, and are considering accelerating capital contributions to the bailout fund being set up this year to stem the debt crisis. Sarkozy won the backing of Merkel for a tax on financial transactions.
The euro gained from the lowest level in 16 months versus the dollar as the leaders of Germany and France discussed a rulebook for closer fiscal union among the nations that share the currency. The Euro currency advanced 0.4% to $1.2766
Oil dropped a third day as German industrial output declined, signalling that growth in Europe’s largest economy may have stalled, and as concern eased that Iran will block crude shipments from the Persian Gulf. Oil for February delivery fell 25 cents to $101.31 a barrel.
Gold settled lower, moving in tandem with equities and riskier assets, as investors focused on technical resistance and kept fretting about the euro zone debt crisis. U.S. February gold futures for February delivery fell $8.70 an ounce to settle at $1,608.10.
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