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New York - US stocks leaped upward Tuesday amid rising hopes for a solution to Greece's debt crisis and signs of recovery in post-quake Japan.
Stocks were off to a sharply positive start of the holiday-shortened week. US financial markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average points jumped 122.15 points (0.98%) to 12 563.74 in the first five minutes of trade.
The S&P 500-stock index, a broader measure of the markets, advanced 12.80 points (0.96%) to 1 343.90, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 29.32 points (1.05%) to 2 826.18.
"The catalysts for the positive disposition include news that industrial production picked up in Japan in April and is expected to accelerate further, and word that eurozone officials are working out details of a new loan package for Greece," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
Eurozone junior finance ministers will meet Wednesday in Vienna to discuss Greece's debt problems, including the possibility of fresh aid, a European source told AFP on Tuesday.
Investors appeared unfazed by the latest data on the long-depressed US housing market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index showed home pries fell for the ninth straight month in March, by 3.6% from a year earlier.
Wall Street stocks closed modestly higher Friday but the week ended lower for the fourth week running.
The Dow rose 0.31%, the S&P 500 added 0.41% and the Nasdaq gained 0.50%.
