Global stocks bounce back with strong earnings in focus

U.S. crude fell 0.13 per cent to $71.69 per barrel and Brent was last at $80.98, up 0.25 per cent on the day.

Stocks bounced back on Tuesday across the world, supported by strong earnings expectations, while oil prices were wobbly as evidence of higher U.S. production was overshadowed by a tighter global supply outlook as Iran prepares for U.S. sanctions.

Despite the rally in stocks, U.S. Treasury yields were steady.

European shares pulled up from Monday's 22-month lows, partly on expectations that the reporting season will deliver double-digit earnings growth. A rebound in Italian assets helped battered equities find firmer ground as well.

On Wall Street, tech shares led the way a day after a decline in Apple weighed on the Nasdaq, while the healthcare sector also rose after earnings reports from Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group.

"A couple of inputs that caused a sell-off in the last two weeks, such as rising interest rates, higher oil prices and the dollar, have calmed down to rational levels," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in New York.

"The market may be able to positively respond to that as we work our way through the earnings season."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 412.38 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 25,662.93, the S&P 500 gained 42.59 points, or 1.55 per cent, to 2,793.38 and the Nasdaq Composite added 155.66 points, or 2.09 per cent, to 7,586.40.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1.41 per cent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.45 per cent.

Emerging market stocks lost 0.86 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.11 per cent lower.

OIL WOBBLES

Crude futures oscillated as concerns about tightening global supplies ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran were offset by higher U.S. shale production and inventories.

U.S. crude fell 0.13 per cent to $71.69 per barrel and Brent was last at $80.98, up 0.25 per cent on the day.

Sterling rose against the dollar after data showed basic wages of workers in Britain rose at their fastest pace in nearly a decade. The British currency was last trading at $1.3188, up 0.29 per cent on the day.

Meanwhile, a survey showed German investor morale darkened more than expected in October.

The euro rose 0.04 per cent to $1.1582, while the Japanese yen weakened 0.34 per cent versus the greenback at 112.15 per dollar. The dollar index fell 0.05 per cent.

Investors waited for Washington's view on China in the U.S. Treasury's semiannual currency report due this week, after media reports last week that it has not labelled Beijing a currency manipulator.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last rose 1/32 in price to yield 3.1614 per cent, versus 3.163 per cent late on Monday.

The 30-year bond last rose 3/32 in price to yield 3.3364 per cent, from 3.341 per cent late on Monday.

"Following the extraordinary volatility in both stocks and bonds, we are seeing a bit of a calming here as traders are looking for new ranges," said John Canavan, market strategist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in New York.

Investors scaled back bearish bets on longer-dated U.S. government debt this week, suggesting less selling pressure on Treasuries, according to a survey released by J.P. Morgan Securities on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies.)