US stocks rose on Wednesday as the slow progress from European leaders in resolving their debt crisis was enough to satisfy investors, even if early reports from an EU summit were short on detail.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 162.42 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 11,869.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 12.94 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 1,241.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 12.25 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 2,650.67.
Australian share are poised to open higher when local markets reopen. In recent trading, the December share price index futures contract was up 27 points at 4,249.
The euro zone aims to leverage its 440 billion euro bailout fund "several fold," but details are not expected until November, according to a draft statement obtained by Reuters.
Stocks increased gains in the afternoon as the news emerged, continuing the market's recent rally. The S&P has risen 9.5 per cent for the month on growing optimism for a deal to address sovereign debt and bank balance sheets in Europe.
"The market has begun to discount any meaningful announcement coming from today's meeting -- that should be helpful for the markets as the bar is set pretty low," said Joseph Tanious, market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds in New York.
Financials were among the best performers with JPMorgan Chase & Co up 2.1 per cent to $US34.18 and US Bancorp up 2.6 per cent to $US25.48. The KBW Bank index advanced 2.1 per cent.
Tanious said details still need to be worked out, including the extent of recapitalization of the banks, clarity on how the the European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF, was to be leveraged and what to do about Greece's overhang of debt.
Gains were curbed on the Nasdaq as Amazon.com Inc slumped 12.7 per cent to $US198.401 a day after forecasting a disappointing outlook for the current quarter on costs related to Kindle and other investments.
On the Dow, Boeing Co rose 4.5 per cent to $US66.56 as the top boost to the index after raising its outlook.
With Europe dominating headlines, earnings have taken a back seat. According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 206 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings for the quarter, 72 per cent have topped Wall Street estimates.
Economic data showed demand for a range of long-lasting US-made goods rising at the fastest pace in six months in September and new homes sales for the same period the strongest in five months.
Volume was solid with about 8.54 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, above the daily average of 8.01 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,404 to 598, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,817 to 675.
Reuters