Although many analysts cautioned that neither development was an immediate cure-all for the problems facing the European and U.S. economies, the news helped stock markets in Asia to solid gains on Monday. European and U.S. stock futures also rose.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and the Straits Times index in Singapore were up 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent by midafternoon.

The S.P./ASX 200 in Australia closed 1.9 percent higher, the Kospi in South Korea rose 2.2 percent and the benchmark index in Taiwan closed up 1.7 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index managed a rise of 1.6 percent, finishing the day at 8,287.49 points, despite comments from the central bank governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, that the prospects for the Japanese economy remained poor.

The euro was hovering just under $1.33, up from $1.3233 late on Friday. The European currency has slipped sharply since late October, when one euro was worth $1.42.

Global stock markets have also slumped in recent weeks, as the European debt crisis began to move from small, peripheral economies like Greece and undermined confidence in larger euro zone members, like Italy and even France.

The ratings agency Moody’s on Monday warned that the increasing severity of the euro zone debt crisis was putting the ratings of all E.U. nations under threat.

“While the euro area as a whole possesses tremendous economic and financial strength, institutional weaknesses continue to hinder the resolution of the crisis and weigh on ratings,” Moody’s said in a report
on Monday. “In terms of the policy framework, the euro area is approaching a junction, leading either to closer integration or greater fragmentation.”

Still, despite this grim environment, markets staged a muted rally on Monday, reversing some of the slides seen during the previous weeks.

Encouraging news from both Europe and the United States helped prop up investor sentiment.

In the United States, the Thanksgiving weekend — a key shopping period ahead of the all-important Christmas holiday season — saw unexpectedly strong spending across the nation, fanning hopes that U.S. consumers are once again daring to open their wallets.

The National Retail Federation said Sunday that spending per shopper surged 9.1 percent over last year — the biggest increase since 2006 — to an average of almost $400 a customer. In all, 6.6 percent more shoppers visited stores on the Thanksgiving weekend than last year.

And in Europe, there were reports saying that France, Germany and Italy were prepared to move ahead more quickly to establish firm rules on fiscal issues, including debt limits, and to encourage more coordination of economic and fiscal policy.

Still, the differences on how to approach a larger bailout for euro zone countries remain profound, with Germany firmly opposing both an expanded role for the European Central Bank and bonds issued jointly by the euro zone countries — commonly known as euro bonds — as answers to the sovereign debt crisis.

And analysts cautioned that it was by no means clear that even an agreement on tighter budget rules would convince markets that the European Union, the E.C.B. and euro zone governments stand behind bigger indebted nations like Italy and Spain.

“Calls on the E.C.B. to adopt Fed style pre-emptive and aggressive QE continue to intensify, now also from within the core countries,” said Michala Marcussen, an economist at Société Générale in London, in a research note on Sunday, referring to quantitative easing. “The political hurdle thus seems to be easing.”

Yet a potential legal obstacle remains, she cautioned, in that the E.C.B. is not allowed to finance governments directly. “We have long held that the E.C.B. would, when looking into the abyss, turn more aggressive. However, such action is likely to be reactive rather than pre-emptive.”

Moody’s echoed this cautious sentiment on Monday.

“The political impetus to implement an effective resolution plan may only emerge after a series of shocks, which may lead to more countries losing access to market funding for a sustained period and requiring a support program,” it wrote.

“This would very likely cause those countries’ ratings to be moved into speculative grade in view of the solvency tests that would likely be required and the burden-sharing that might be imposed if (as is likely) support were to be needed for a sustained period.”

Stephanie Clifford contributed from New York.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/business/global/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss