* Markets surge after news of Greek banking merger
* Higher U.S. consumer spending data helps sentiment
* Stocks, crude oil up at least 2 pct
* Gold down 2 pct as investors embrace more risk (Recasts, updates prices)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Global stocks rallied on Monday along with oil after a merger between two major banks in Greece gave investors a rare bit of encouraging news out of Europe.
Greece's stock market jumped 14 percent and Greek banking stocks surged 29 percent, while trading volume around the world was low, with London closed for a holiday and Wall Street recovering from Hurricane Irene. For more, see:[ID:nL5E7JT1JU] [ID:nN1E77R061]
Surprisingly strong U.S. consumer spending for July -- which indicated the economy was not falling back into recession -- further boosted sentiment. [ID:N1E77S0BS].
U.S. crude oil
Spot gold
The dollar edged 0.3 percent lower against a basket of major currencies <.DXY> [USD/]. U.S. Treasuries prices fell as investors turned to stocks, although bond market volume was very light, according to data from ICAP. [US/]
At 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT), Wall Street's Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 213.50 points, or 1.89 percent, at 11,498.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 26.71 points, or 2.27 percent, at 1,203.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 67.07 points, or 2.70 percent, at 2,546.92.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
GREEK DEAL
The run-up in stocks was largely due to the merger between
Eurobank
"We've actually started putting cash to work," said Keith Wirtz, chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management, with $18 billion in assets. "A few things (are) helping the stock market -- there's relief coming from the storm and Europe, particularly with Greece."
Troubled by rating downgrades, deposit outflows and loan impairments in the wake of the country's worst recession in four decades, Greek bank shares have tumbled more than 55 percent year-to-date.
Monday's deal sent stocks prices of Eurobank and Alpha up 30 percent. The tie-up between Eurobank and Alpha Bank creates the largest bank on Southeast Europe and could trigger more such deals, analysts said. [ID:nLDE77Q03M]
"It will be the starting signal for M&A in Greece. The other banks will have to react," said an analyst who asked not to be identified.
Aside from banking stocks, shares of U.S. insurers were also up on Wall Street due to less-than-feared property damage from the weekend storm.
World shares <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 2.1 percent and European stocks <.FTEU3> closed up 1.6 percent, partly on speculation about more monetary easing in the United States.
Bernanke, in his annual address to central bankers, gave no details on whether the Fed was planning to flood markets with more dollars to help the economy. But he said the central bank's policy panel would meet for two days next month instead of one to discuss additional monetary stimulus, offering hopes of a move then. [ID:nN1E77R0GB]
Some analysts think it may be hard for Bernanke and the Fed to follow through with another round of bond buying after the $600 billion program that expired in June.
"He (Bernanke) has a much, much harder decision this time," Jim Walker, founder of Asianomics, told Reuters television. "What he's got to do is convince the dissenting voices in the Fed -- and there are now three of them -- that economic growth is so bad that it is time to use even more extraordinary measures."
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http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub (Additional reporting by Patrick Graham, Neal Armstrong and Simon Jessup; Editing by James Dalgleish and Dan Grebler)