Stock prices made strong gains early Tuesday as U.S. investors were cheered by cost-cutting plans by troubled General Motors, and remarks about interest costs by the top U.S. central banker.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 61 points to hit 10,528. The S & P 500 gained six points to reach 1204 and the NASDAQ moved up nine points at 2085.
European share prices are higher in midday trading today. London's Financial Times index and the CAC-40 in Paris moved up about half a percent, while the DAX index in Frankfurt gained more than one percent.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 53 points to finish at 11,217. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed down 23 points at 13,837.
The price of gold is down about a dollar and a half, trading at 424 dollars and 40 cents an ounce in New York.
The dollar is lower against the yen and the euro in New York.