MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

S&P 500 Rises Most in 2 Months Amid Budget Deal Optimism; amid better-than-forecast housing data and as President Barack Obama expressed confidence on a budget agreement with Congress. The S&P 500 rose 2 percent to 1,386.89 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities gained 2.5 percent in two days, the most since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 207.65 points, or 1.7 percent, to 12,795.96. Volume for exchange-listed stocks in the U.S. was 6.2 billion shares, about in line with the three-month daily average.

European Stocks Advance Amid U.S. Budget Talks Optimism; as U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence that he will strike a deal with Congress on a new budget to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rallied 2.4 percent. Germany's DAX Index gained 2.5 percent and France's CAC 40 advanced 2.9 percent.

Oil Trades Near Month High as Israel Conflict Counters Supplies; as concern Middle East unrest will disrupt supplies countered speculation that stockpiles rose a third week in the U.S., the world's biggest crude user. Crude for January delivery was at $88.95 a barrel, down 33 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:55 a.m. Sydney time. The contract increased $2.36 to $89.28 yesterday, the highest close since Oct. 19. Prices are down 10 percent this year.

Source:Jupiter Securities Research, 20 November 2012