US markets surge after an extended weekend on European hopes

Rejuvenated US markets went for a rally after a long weekend and all the major indices were up by more than a percent on Tuesday. Some positives from Greece outweighed the report of private sector, which showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly cooled in May, falling to the lowest level in four months. Investors cheered new opinion polls that showed a shift in favor of austerity measures in Greece, boosting optimism that the country will remain in the euro zone and would not threaten more turmoil in the financial system.

There was good news from the stabilizing housing sector; the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of US single-family home prices edged 0.1 percent higher in 20 metropolitan areas in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, up for the second consecutive month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 125.86 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 12,580.69. The S&P 500 gained 14.60 points, or 1.11 percent, to 1332.42, while the Nasdaq added 33.46 points, or 1.18 percent, to settle at 2870.99.

Indian ADRs closed mostly higher on Tuesday, HDFC Bank was up by 0.76%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.85%, Infosys was up by 0.99%, Wipro was up by 0.22% and Dr Reddy’s lab was up by 0.08%.