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World stocks up after robust US holiday shopping
PAMELA SAMPSON
(The Associated Press)

06:05:23AM (ET) Monday,November 28,2011.

BANGKOK (AP) — World stocks were boosted Monday by a robust start to the U.S. holiday shopping season and reports that European leaders are considering legal means to force debt-ridden euro countries into fiscal discipline.

Benchmark oil rose above $99 per barrel and the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

European stock markets rose in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.4 percent to 5,235.40. Germany's DAX gained 2 percent to 5,601.80 and France's CAC-40 jumped 2.1 percent to 2,917.54.

Wall Street also appeared headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 1.6 percent to 11,370 and S&P 500 futures jumping 2 percent at 1,176.70.

The gains in Europe tracked those in Asia earlier in the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.6 percent to close at 8,287.49. South Korea's Kospi gained 2.2 percent to 1,815.28 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2 percent to 18,037.81. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.9 percent to 4,058.20.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand were also higher. Those in Indonesia and the Philippines fell. In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 2,383.03.

German media reported over the weekend that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were studying legal changes — possibly amendments to the European Union growth and stability pact — to force nations using the euro common currency to comply with strict rules for budget discipline and tough sanctions for violators.

The reports raised hopes that the region may be able to stem a debt crisis that has infected peripheral countries like Greece and is threatening bigger countries like Spain.

Surprisingly strong Thanksgiving sales in the U.S. also helped boost market sentiment, said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day U.S. holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, according to early estimates by The National Retail Federation. The results for the first holiday shopping weekend show that retailers' efforts to lure shoppers during the weak economy are working. Holiday shopping can account for 25 to 40 percent of a merchant's annual revenue.

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Hoping for a better week for world stocks along with the U.S.

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