* Progress at Japan nuclear plant lifts risk appetite
* U.S. stocks soar on AT&T's T-Mobile deal
* U.S.-traded Nikkei futures advance
* Euro touches $1.42 vs USD on rate hike expectations
(Updates prices, adds Nikkei futures, Warren Buffett comment
on Japanese stocks)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - Global stocks rallied on
Monday as risk appetite returned following progress in
resolving Japan's nuclear crisis, while the yen slipped on
speculation of more central bank intervention.
Oil prices rose but eased from session highs after Western
forces launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya.
The yen fell on investor concerns over more coordinated
actions by the Group of Seven countries.
U.S. stocks rose more than 1.5 percent as investors
welcomed AT&T Inc's <T.N> $39 billion offer to buy T-Mobile USA
from Deutsche Telekom in what would be the world's biggest deal
this year and Germany's biggest in a decade.
The gains in U.S. stocks followed a second straight week of
losses over concerns about unrest in oil-producing North Africa
and the Middle East. Japan's earthquake and tsunami and the
ensuing nuclear crisis deepened investors' concerns about a
continued global economic recovery.
"The fact that companies are confident to do big deals gets
people thinking that the environment may not be too bad, that
there is liquidity out there in the market. It opens doors for
other, larger M&A deals," said John Canally, investment
strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.
"More incrementally positive news from Japan in terms of
the nuclear situation is helping the market," Canally said.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares was up 1.7 percent and the MSCI world share index
<.MIWD00000PUS> jumped 1.6 percent, the largest daily gain in
seven weeks.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 185.42
points, or 1.56 percent, at 12,043.94. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 19.29 points, or 1.51 percent, at
1,298.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 49.81
points, or 1.88 percent, at 2,693.48.
Engineers rigged power cables to all six reactors at
Japan's Fukushima complex and started a water pump at one to
reverse overheating. Still, The World Health Organization said
radiation in food was more serious than previously thought. For
details, see []
Japan's markets were closed for a holiday, but the MSCI
index of Asian stocks outside of Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.4
percent.
Japanese equities, battered after the disaster ten days
ago, got a boost after billionaire investor Warren Buffett said
the earthquake and tsunami are the kind of extraordinary events
that create a buying opportunity for shares in Japanese
companies. []
U.S. dollar-denominated Nikkei futures <NKc1> rose 2.5
percent and have gained roughly 11 percent in the last three
sessions.
The yen added to losses, with speculators wary of more
coordinated actions by the Group of Seven countries. The dollar
rose 0.4 percent for the day to 81.13 yen <JPY=> after joint G7
intervention last week hoisted the greenback nearly 4 percent
versus the Japanese currency.
The G7 acted after the yen jumped to a post-World War Two
record high of 76.25 yen to the dollar last Thursday. More
intervention is expected if it climbs again.
The euro <EUR=> briefly rose above $1.42 against the U.S.
dollar for the first time since November before trading near
break-even as markets braced for a euro zone interest rate hike
as soon as next month.
Brent crude for May delivery <LCOc1> was about $1.50 at
$115.39 a barrel after the U.N.-mandated attacks on Libya aimed
at protecting civilians caught up in a revolt against the
nation's leader, Muammar Gaddafi. []
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Libya Graphics
http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Japan disaster in figures
http://r.reuters.com/ser58r
Japan disaster Top News page
[]
Picture, graphic packages:
http://r.reuters.com/wyb58r
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Brent has risen nearly 22 percent this quarter, with prices
buoyed by uncertainty over the unrest in North Africa and the
oil-producing Gulf region.
"The key is really how Saudi (Arabia) and Iran play out.
Cool heads need to prevail. It's contained at the moment, but
if things worsen, you see a Mideast premium very quickly," said
Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking
Services.
U.S. Treasuries prices were hurt by reduced safe-haven
demand and extended losses after the Treasury said it will
begin to sell $142 billion of its agency-guaranteed
mortgage-backed securities. []
Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> were last down 18/32 in
price to yield 3.33 percent, up from 3.28 percent late Friday.
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* For Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting
* For the MacroScope blog http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope
* For hedge fund blog http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub
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(Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou, Angela Moon, Karen
Brettell, Ian Chua, Joanne Frearson, Blaise Robinson, Alejandro
Barbajosa and Anirban Nag; editing by Ken Barry and Jeffrey
Benkoe)
