STOCKS: Wednesday's review

Majors close

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rose the most in five months after the nation’s currency fell to a four-week low versus the dollar and the government pledged to ask Group of Seven officials to support a weaker yen.
Honda Motor Co. rose 1.6%. Shippers gained after Credit Suisse Group AG started coverage of the maritime traffic sector with an “overweight” rating.
Japan Tobacco Inc. (2914) rose 3.5% after the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker asked the government to sell its shares in the company and use the funds to pay for disaster relief efforts.
Stocks extended gains even after the yen pared yesterday’s losses and the Bank of Japan today kept its key interest rate between zero and 0.1% and left the amount of its lending and asset-purchase programs unchanged.
Exporters advanced, with Honda gaining 1.6%.
Canon Inc. (7751) climbed 1.5%.

European stocks rose the most in three weeks, rebounding from a two-year low, after three days of losses dragged the Stoxx Europe 600 Index near to the cheapest since 2008.
Greek stocks gained as Germany’s top court rejected challenges to the participation of Europe’s largest economy in euro rescue funds.
Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, climbed 7.3% after revenue topped analyst estimates.
Scor SE (SCR) increased 2.5% after confirming targets.
Renault SA (RNO) led a rally in automakers.
Greek banks rallied, led by National Bank of Greece SA (ETE), the country’s largest, which gained 23%.
EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA (EUROB) soared 15% and Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR) jumped 15%.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe threw out suits targeting Germany’s share of the 110 billion euros ($155 billion) in loans for Greece from euro-region governments and the International Monetary Fund as well as a separate 750 billion-euro rescue fund approved last year to halt the spread of Greece’s debt crisis.

U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a three-day decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as investors speculated President Barack Obama’s plan to inject more than $300 billion into the economy will bolster growth.
All 10 groups in the S&P 500 rose as gains were led by financial, energy and industrial shares.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) added 7% after a shakeup in management.
Yahoo! Inc. climbed 6.1% as the most-visited U.S. Web portal ousted Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz and announced a strategic review to boost growth.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) rose 9.6% as the maker of graphics chips forecast sales that beat estimates.
Obama plans to propose sparking job growth by injecting more than $300 billion into the economy next year, mostly through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments
The Fed said the economy grew at a slower pace in some regions of the country as shoppers limited their spending and factories curbed production. “Economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace, though some districts noted mixed or weakening activity,” the Fed said in its Beige Book survey released today in Washington.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans called for more stimulus to reduce a 9.1% jobless rate, including a commitment to keep interest rates low until unemployment falls to around 7.5% while holding medium- term inflation below 3%.