Investing.com - U.S. stock markets rose on Wednesday, as fears over the euro zone's debt crisis eased after Spain's prime minister pledged to cut state employees' wages and slash investment spending to combat his country's budget deficit.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.78% and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.99%.
Earlier in the day, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish prime minister, made the pledge to tackle the deficit.
"We need to make a singular, exceptional and extraordinary effort to cut our public deficit and we must do so now that the economy is beginning to recover," Reuters quoted Zapatero as saying in parliament.
Also Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened for the second consecutive month in March to its highest level since December 2008.
Stock markets in Europe also advanced: France’s CAC 40 was up 1.49%; Germany's DAX rose 2.59%; Britain's FTSE 100 was up 1.05%; and the EURO STOXX 50 rose 1.65%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration was set to publish a weekly report on crude oil inventories, and James Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee, was due to speak at an event in Nashville. Traders were likely to scrutinize his comments for clues to future shifts in monetary policy.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.78% and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.99%.
Earlier in the day, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish prime minister, made the pledge to tackle the deficit.
"We need to make a singular, exceptional and extraordinary effort to cut our public deficit and we must do so now that the economy is beginning to recover," Reuters quoted Zapatero as saying in parliament.
Also Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened for the second consecutive month in March to its highest level since December 2008.
Stock markets in Europe also advanced: France’s CAC 40 was up 1.49%; Germany's DAX rose 2.59%; Britain's FTSE 100 was up 1.05%; and the EURO STOXX 50 rose 1.65%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration was set to publish a weekly report on crude oil inventories, and James Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee, was due to speak at an event in Nashville. Traders were likely to scrutinize his comments for clues to future shifts in monetary policy.