OREANDA-NEWS. October 27, 2011. US stocks rose on Wednesday with Oil&Gas (+2.24%) and Basic Materials (+2.13%) as the leaders. S&P 500 index added 1.05%, Russell 2000 Index – was up by 1.89%. VIX was down by 7.32% to 29.86.  Of 214 companies reported so far 162 topped analysts’ expectations in terms of EPS. The economic data were positive. Durable goods orders declined 0.8% vs consensus forecast of -1.0%. Excluding transport component, orders rose by 1.7%.

New home sales rose to 313K in September vs consensus forecast of 300K.

EURUSD closed around 1.39. After the close the European leaders announced new measures in tackling crisis. Greek haircut on private debt would be at 50%, EFSF size could be increased to 1.5tn euro, bank recapitalization might reach 110bn and China may participate in the EU bailout program. However the agreements still  look vague as they have not solved the major issue – ECB role in the bailout program.

Asian indices rose on Thursday. Shanghai stock indices were up 0.65% on average. S&P/ASX 200 increased by 2.49%. Korean Kospi added 1.46%. Nikkei was down by 2.06%.

The European stock indices jumped in the morning - Dow Jones Stoxx 50 futures was up by 3.36% while Dax futures rose by 3.41%. S&P futures added 1.62%.

In the US, 3Q GDP data, weekly jobless claims and pending home sales will be in focus.62 S&P 500 companies are to present quarterly earnings reports.