(MENAFN- AFP) Wall Street stocks jumped in early trade Wednesday on solid US economic data, joining European equities, which rose on stimulus hopes.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,544.10, up 172.46 points (0.99 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 19.46 (0.97 percent) at 2,022.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 39.56 (0.96 percent) to 4,636.13.
Economic news came in better than expected: The US trade deficit shrank sharply to its smallest size in nearly a year, while the private sector added 241,000 jobs in December, up from 227,000 in November.
Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany all rose about one percent or more after weak eurozone inflation data sparked speculation the European Central Bank will enact stimulus measures.
Wednesday's gains helped reverse deep declines in the first trading days of 2015 on worries about plummeting oil prices and eurozone political instability.
Agricultural products giant Monsanto rose 1.3 percent after fiscal first-quarter earnings came in at 47 cents per share, above the 35 cents projected by analysts.
Department-store chain J.C. Penney jumped 19.5 percent as comparable sales for the key holiday shopping period in November and December rose 3.7 percent compared with a year ago.
Chipmaker Micron Technology lost 2.5 percent after it offered a mixed outlook for the upcoming quarter. Morgan Stanley trimmed its earnings forecast for the second quarter by 10 cents to 86 cents per share based on Micron's latest data.
Keurig Green Mountain jumped 5.8 percent after announcing a venture with Dr Pepper Snapple Group to market a home beverage system. Dr Pepper Snapple rose 1.0 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.98 percent from 1.94 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.55 percent from 2.50 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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