The Dow Jones industrial average rose 199.89 points, to close at 9,962.58. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 23.48 points, or 2.25 percent, to 1,066.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 37.94 points, or 1.84 percent, to close at 2,097.55. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.8 percent to close at 997.49 points. The European benchmark is up more than 54 percent from its low of March 9. The benchmark Nikkei climbed 143.64 points to 10,034.74 after closing at a three-week low below 10,000 on Thursday. The Topix added 1.4 percent to 894.67.

Yesterday, Russia’s central bank cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 9.5 per cent in an attempt to boost bank lending and reduce the attractiveness of short-term investments in Russian assets. In October, German unemployment unexpectedly fell. The jobless rate slipped to 8.1 per cent from 8.2 per cent the previous month. German September preliminary retail sales have come in at -0.5% m/m, -3.9% y/y, weaker than the median forecasts of +1.o%, -2.2% y/y respectively. According to data from the European Commission, a recovery in Eurozone confidence is well underway. The economic sentiment indicator rose to 86.2. Timothy Geithner has suggested that the Federal Reserve should lose its authority to bail out financial firms under proposed reforms aimed at limiting the damage from failures.

Due for release today, JPY Bank of Japan Interest Rate Decision, GBP Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey, AUD Private Sector Credit, Euro-Zone Consumer Price Index Estimate.

By Greg Secker