BANGKOK – World stock markets began to claw back some lost ground Wednesday, following a wave of selling sparked by fears that Greece might reject an austerity plan and default on its massive debts.

Oil bounced to near $93 a barrel, while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

Stocks have struggled since Monday, when Greece’s prime minister unexpectedly announced he would call a national vote on an unpopular European plan that entails painful tax increases and drastic welfare cuts for his debt-ridden nation.

But European shares shows signs of recuperation early in the day. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1 percent to 5,473.96. Germany’s DAX rose 1.6 percent to 5,928.31 and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.7 percent to 3,121.68.

Wall Street also appeared headed for gains, with Dow Jones industrial futures gaining 0.7 percent to 11,761 and S&P 500 futures 0.9 percent higher at 1,235.10.

Several key Asian indexes also joined in on the rebound, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shooting up 1.9 percent to 19,733.71 after a lower opening. Benchmarks in India, Singapore and Indonesia were also higher.

But Japan’s Nikkei 225 index tumbled 2.2 percent to 8,640.42, its lowest close in three weeks. Benchmarks in Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines also posted losses.

Papandreou’s unexpected call for a public vote on the aid package came just days before the leaders of the world’s largest industrial and developing nations gather for the G20 economic summit in Cannes, France on Thursday and Friday. The troubled eurozone will be the summit’s emergency topic.

A top European official warned that Athens could be left to go bankrupt if it went through with the vote and experts said the broader deal — which hopes to protect larger countries such as Italy from markets panic — could collapse.

Ultimately, Greece could leave the 17-nation euro currency union, causing financial havoc and pushing the global economy back into recession.

“A no vote could quickly start a chain reaction leading to Greece being forced to leave the Monetary Union. A resulting run on Greek banks could have serious spillover effects on Portugal and Ireland,” Citibank analysts said in a report.

That prospect could be enough to keep the referendum from happening — Papandreou’s government could collapse before the proposal goes through, having lost huge amounts of support from its own party.

Mainland Chinese shares advanced, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index reversing early losses to gain 1.4 percent to 2,504.11 — the Shanghai benchmark’s highest close in over a month. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.8 percent to 1,060.17.

Comments by Premier Wen Jiabao that suggested China might ease its tight monetary policies were enough to overcome the gloom that prevailed in the morning, said Liu Kan, an analyst at Guoyuan Securities in Shanghai.

“That means more to the mainland Chinese markets than European debt crisis,” Liu said.

Nearly 50 companies hit the daily limit of 10 percent. China National Software & Service Co. jumped 10 percent due to news of tax relief for software companies. China Life Insurance Co. gained 2.5 percent while China Merchants Bank added 1.9 percent.

Japan’s powerhouse export sector fell sharply, a day after data showed that U.S. manufacturing grew more slowly in October, hampered by weak demand for exports. Toyota Motor Corp. tumbled 3.5 percent, Panasonic Corp. lost 3.8 percent and Sharp Corp. fell 4 percent.

Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. fell 1.3 percent after saying there may be signs of fresh nuclear fission in the No. 2 reactor at its disaster-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Mazda Motor Corp. slid 5.4 percent after reporting it expects a loss of 19 billion yen ($244 million) for the fiscal year through March 2012, down from an earlier projection of a 1 billion yen ($12.8 million) profit.

Sony Corp. fell 3.6 percent after it reported a 27 billion yen ($346 million) loss for the latest quarter and downgraded its annual earnings forecast due to the strong yen and poor sales of flat panel TVs.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Railway Construction Corp. soared 10.5 percent and China Railway Group Ltd. jumped 9 percent after news reports said the country’s Ministry of Railways was in line for a new injection of funds.

The Dow fell 2.5 percent to close at 11,657.96 on Tuesday. It was the biggest drop since Sept. 22. The S&P 500 lost 2.8 percent to 1,218.28. The Nasdaq composite dropped 2.9 percent to 2,606.96.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 70 cents at $92.89 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1 to settle at $92.19 in New York on Tuesday.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3791 from $1.3715 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar slipped to 78.08 yen from 78.33 yen.

___

AP researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.

PARIS – Stock markets in Europe and the U.S. recouped some of their previous day’s hefty losses Friday but investors remained skeptical about whether the world’s leading economies will come up with a coordinated plan to shore up the global economy.

Fears over another recession in Europe and the U.S. contributed to Thursday’s slide, which prompted the finance ministers of the Group of 20 leading developed and developing economies to say they will work together to stabilize markets.

Their pledge to “take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of the banking systems and financial markets” and to make sure banks have the cash they need to pay their day-to-day expenses, helped cushion markets from a repeat of Thursday.

But investors will be looking for more during the weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

“I think many in the markets are no longer reassured by platitudes, we want to see action and not just words — more walking the walk and less talking the talk,” said Louise Cooper, an analyst with BGC Partners. “The G20 communique was more eloquent on the problems facing the world than the solutions to be found.”

In Europe, France’s CAC-40 closed up 1 percent at 2,810.11 while the DAX in Germany rose 0.6 percent to 5,196.56. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares ended 0.5 percent higher at 5,066.81.

Wall Street pushed higher too — the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.1 percent at 10,745 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.5 percent to 1,134.

Despite the modest gains Friday, the worries are piling up for investors: a U.S. Federal Reserve warning earlier this week that the American economy is in significant difficulty, a raft of downbeat European and Asian economic indicators, and the continued concern over Greece’s debt.

“The markets are eagerly awaiting a resolution or at the minimum, a more rigid strategy to reduce Greeces debt liabilities,” said Giles Watts, head of equities at City Index.

Bank stocks have led the way down in recent days as investors fret over their potential exposure to the debts of Greece. Those fears have become more acute as the markets increasingly price in the likelihood of a Greek default.

Athens has had a series of meetings with its creditors this week to try to avoid that, but it’s unclear whether it will be able to dig itself out of its debt hole, even with the help of billions from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Even the normally tightlipped head of the French market authority, AMF, told France Inter radio Friday that “the situation is very, very worrying. We are in a worldwide situation of crisis,” pointing to debt in Japan, “imbalances” in the United States, and Europe’s sovereign debt troubles.

“We must take urgent measures on the international level,” said Jean-Pierre Jouyet.

Those concerns have knocked confidence in the euro over the past week or two. After Thursday’s plunge it was trading a little bit steadier, up 0.4 percent at $1.3522.

Joaquin Almunia, who runs the department in the EU’s executive Commission that has to clear bank bailouts, suggested earlier this week that one solution might be to extend crisis rules that make it easier for governments to rescue failing lenders. He also said that even banks that passed stress tests this summer may need to raise more money.

Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4 percent to 17,668.83 after losing nearly 5 percent the day before. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.6 percent to 3,903.20.

South Korean shares took a large hit, with the Kospi tumbling 5.7 percent to 1,697.44. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 2,433.16. Japan’s market was closed for a holiday.

Oil prices were down again alongside equities — benchmark crude fell 27 cents to $80.24.

___

Associated Press writers Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AFP) – US stock markets jumped more than one percent on Tuesday, giving investors some relief after a six-week losing streak culminated in a brutal sell-off last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 123.14 points (1.03 percent) to reach 12,076.11 in final trade.

The broader S&P 500 index rose 16.04 points (1.26 percent) to 1,287.87, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 39.03 points (1.48 percent) to 2,678.72.

The gains came after the release of better-than-expected data on retail sales and wholesale inflation, which showed that the US economic recovery was weak, but still on track, analysts said.

The data was “not as bad as feared but not exactly great news,” said Marc Pado of Cantor Fitzgerald. “And yet the market responded with a nice surge.”

US retail sales fell 0.2 percent from April, a less steep drop than the consensus estimate of 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile wholesale inflation came in at 0.2 percent, outpacing analysts’ consensus estimate of 0.1 percent.

Earlier, China released data indicating that inflation in the world’s second-largest economy was 5.5 percent, the highest in three years.

The Chinese data eased fears that the global economy was slowing sharply, sparking rallies in Asian and European markets.

“Today’s data from abroad and at home is consistent with the soft-patch view as opposed to the rumblings of a global economy moving toward another recession,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.

Shares of JC Penney surged 17.5 percent after the clothing retailer announced it was hiring a new chief executive from Apple.

Electronics retailer Best Buy jumped 4.6 percent after earnings beat expectations.

US markets have been bearish in recent weeks as investors have fretted about a slowing economic recovery. The Dow lost around seven percent from late April to early June.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 3.10 percent from 2.99 percent on Monday, while that on the 30-year bond rose to 4.30 percent from 4.21 percent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

LONDON – Strong earnings from computer maker Dell helped stocks rise on Wednesday, with commodity prices ticking higher as well after recent days’ dramatic falls.

Sentiment across markets has been fragile of late, with investors worried about the pace of the global economic recovery, particularly in the U.S.

U.S. figures on Tuesday were downbeat, particularly a housing report showing the sector remains depressed. Hewlett Packard Co., the world’s largest technology company by revenue, lowered its earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

Europe’s debt crisis and uncertainty generated by the arrest of the International Monetary Fund’s head Dominique Strauss-Kahn had also hurt market sentiment this week.

But investors were encouraged by a statement from Dell showing earnings in the three months to April 29 beat expectations thanks to strong corporate demand.

“This could help the stem the slide in U.S. equities,” said Robert Kavcic, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9 percent at 5,912 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 percent to 7,318. The CAC-40 in France was 1 percent higher at 3,979.

Wall Street was poised for a solid advance after a late rally on Tuesday helped limit the retreat — Dow futures were up 0.3 percent at 12,479 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 0.4 percent to 1,331.

The main focus of attention later will be the minutes to the last rate-setting meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors will be interested to see whether the Federal Open Market Committee is worried about the pace of the U.S. recovery following the recent soft data.

However, Marc Ostwald, market strategist at Monument Securities, said the minutes will have lost some of their capacity to shock after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s first post-meeting press conference.

The prevailing view in the markets is that the Fed won’t start start raising its super-low interest rates until later in the year at the earliest, in contrast to the European Central Bank, which has already raised its borrowing costs and is expected to do so again in July.

The divergence in the two banks’ policies is one reason why the dollar has been so weak against the euro recently, though the reemergence of European debt worries have weighed on the single currency over the past couple of weeks.

By early afternoon London time, the euro was 0.2 percent lower at $1.4244. That is still a strong level but nine cents below the 18-month high achieved earlier in the month.

Jorg Kramer, chief economist at Commerzbank, reckons the Fed will wait until early next year before raising interest rates again.

“Its main motive for this reticence is the high unemployment rate, which, even though it has been falling in recent months, is still very high,” Kramer said. “The only reason for the Fed acting at an earlier point would be if inflation expectations surprised and suddenly took off.”

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1 percent to close at 9,662.08, on indications that factory production is recovering following the slump in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said a survey of fund managers for May showed investors growing more confident in Japan’s ability to rebound from the disasters. In April’s survey, respondents were divided evenly between those expecting the country’s economy to weaken in the next year and those expecting it to strengthen. This month, a net 59 percent expected it to strengthen.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.6 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 23,011.14 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.2 percent to 4,693.70.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent to 2,872.77 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 1,202.70.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was up $1.52 to $98.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 47 cents to settle at $96.91 per barrel on Tuesday.

____

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar weakened broadly on Thursday on expectations of low bond yields continuing in 2011, while U.S. and European stocks gave back part of the recent gains that had taken global equities near September 2008 highs.

The Swiss franc soared to record highs against the dollar and the euro as concerns about the European debt crisis reinforced its safe-haven appeal among currency investors.

U.S. stocks dipped in spite of a solid batch of economic data as investors avoided taking on more risk before the new year. Still, the S&P 500 was headed for its best December in nearly two decades and a MSCI index of global stocks remained close to September 2008 highs.

Japan’s Nikkei stock futures traded in Chicago were little changed at 10,230.

“The common sense of the street is that we get pullback after this Santa Claus rally and a very strong run up in the S&P since August,” said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Kenny added, however, that he expects the pullback to come in February instead. “I don’t think it will be in early January because everybody is expecting it.”

Giuseppe-Guido Amato, strategist at Lang & Schwarz in Germany, said that even as companies remain in good shape, “you can’t just buy and hold” after the recent rally.

“There are still the systemic risks of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis,” he said.

Highlighting such concerns, Italy, in its sale of 8.1 billion euros ($10.7 billion) of medium and long-term debt, missed the top end of its targeted range for 8.5 billion euros and had to pay higher yields to investors.

European sovereign debt concerns pushed the euro down to 1.2398 francs on trading platform EBS after a Swiss bank targeted an option barrier at 1.2400. It last traded at 1.2429, down 0.6 percent.

The dollar was down 0.35 percent against a basket of major currencies, according to the U.S. Dollar Index. The euro gained 0.48 percent against the greenback to $1.3287.

The dollar has been weakening since a surprisingly strong Treasury auction on Wednesday put pressure on government bond yields. Treasuries yields were modestly higher on Thursday due to stronger-than-expected economic data, but investors expect them to remain under pressure in 2011 as the U.S. Federal Reserve maintains its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Against the Swiss franc the dollar fell to 0.9356 francs on EBS as the euro/Swiss barrier gave way. It was last at 0.9356, down 1.0 percent on the day.

“We continue to be Swiss franc bulls, expecting that its status as a European alternative to the euro, a strong sovereign position and relatively solid fundamentals will continue to make it an attractive home for investors,” said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.

Thinning liquidity ahead of the New Year’s holiday likely exaggerated price swings in currency markets, traders said.

STOCKS TREADING WATER

U.S. stocks traded flat to lower as the thin liquidity discouraged investors from making big bets.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 15.67 points, or 0.14 percent, at 11,569.71, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1.90 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,257.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 3.95 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,662.98.

That weak performance came despite positive economic data, including a government report that showed new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits dropped 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the lowest reading since early July 2008.

Another report showed activity in the U.S. Midwest jumped unexpectedly in December, with help from a gain in employment and new orders. And pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose faster than expected in November.

In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 1.26 percent, its largest one-day retreat this month. Still, the index is on track to post its biggest monthly gain since March. Thursday was the last trading day of the year in several European countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy.

The benchmark MSCI All-Country World Index finished virtually flat, near Wednesday’s close of 330.90, which was the highest since September 2008.

A weaker dollar pushed silver to new 30-year highs while palladium neared its highest in almost ten years, but gold prices fell 0.47 percent to $1,403.90 an ounce after the positive U.S. economic data.

The data also reduced the safe-haven appeal of U.S. government debt. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 3/32 in price, with the yield at 3.366 percent.

Treasuries prices could be buoyed on Friday, however, by traders positioning for new Federal Reserve purchases of bonds next week.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Wanfeng Zhou, and Karen Brettell in New York, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

NEW YORK – Stocks staged a late afternoon rally after spending most of the day weighed down by an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate. Indexes wound up closing higher for the third straight day.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.6 percent for the week, its best weekly gain since hitting a 2010 high on Nov. 5. The Dow is now just 0.5 percent below that level.

Materials and energy companies led the rebound. Newmont Mining Corp. gained 3.1 percent and oil field services company Schlumberger Ltd. added 2.5 percent. The dollar fell 1.4 percent against an index of six other currencies. Oil and gold prices rose.

Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group in Westport, Conn. said the relationship between a weaker dollar and stronger stocks followed a recent trend.

“You don’t see it every day, but it’s a clear inverse relationship: When the dollar goes down, stocks go up,” he said.

Industrial and basic materials companies that derive much of their revenue from overseas tend to rise when the dollar falls. That’s because their earnings from other countries are worth more in U.S. dollars when the dollar falls against other currencies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.68, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,382.09.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 3.18, or 0.3 percent, to 1,224.71. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.11, or 0.5 percent, to 2,591.46.

Stocks spent most of the day in a slump. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate climbed to a seven-month high of 9.8 percent in November. Employers added just 39,000 jobs, far below what economists forecast.

Expectations of job growth had risen Wednesday after a report showed that private companies were hiring at the fastest pace in three years. That and strong reports Thursday on retail spending and home sales pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 356 points in two days.

Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, 17 rose. Bank of America Corp. led the index with a 1.5 percent gain. Cisco Systems Inc. was the index’s laggard with a 0.8 percent loss.

The weak jobs report served as a reminder that the recovery is proceeding fitfully. The recession that started in December 2007 ended more than a year ago, in June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But the fallout lingers in the form of a rising unemployment rate. Economists say the economy will have to add up to 300,000 new jobs a month before the unemployment rate drops significantly.

“The U.S. may have to face the fact that unemployment is going to be high for a long time,” said Drew Matus, a senior economist at UBS. “There are people who need to be retrained for new jobs and that will take time.”

In corporate news, discount retailer Big Lots Inc. fell 5 percent after reporting that its third-quarter income dropped 42 percent.

Rising shares outpaced falling ones by almost two to one on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was 3.8 billion shares.

LONDON (AFP) – Britain’s leading share index fell back sharply on Monday with only two blue chip firms posting modest gains as Ireland’s 85-billion-euro bailout failed to dispel investor fears over the eurozone debt crisis.

The FTSE 100 dropped 2.08 percent — or 117.75 points — to close at 5,550.95 points.

The index lost ground as traders fear Spain and Portugal will require an Irish-style rescue from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Barclays was the star performer as the lender added 3.15 pence –or 1.21 percent — to close at 262.95.

Peer HSBC barely managed to scrape a profit as its share price inched up 0.30 pence — or 0.05 percent — to close at 651.4 pence.

“Only a few banks have managed to scrape any gains out of today?s trading session,” said Chris Purdy — an analyst with Spreadex.

“Investors are no longer rejoicing in government intervention as they did earlier this autumn. Investors are no longer rejoicing in government intervention as they did earlier this autumn,” he added.

The biggest fallers were in commodity stocks with Petrofac and Cairn Energy leading the fallers.

Petrofac was the biggest casualty with the oil service provider shedding 5.75 percent — or 85 pence — to close at 1392.

Cairn was also under heavy selling pressure with the oil firm losing 4.41 percent — or 17.40 pence — to end the session at 377.6.

Sterling enjoyed a mixed session as it slipped against the dollar but rose against the euro.

At 17:07 GMT, the pound was trading at 1.5556, down from 1.5592 dollars at the same time on Friday.

The British currency fared better against the single European currency, trading at 1.1883 euros, up from 1.1777 over the same period on Friday.

LONDON (AFP) – London shares slipped into the red Tuesday as investors fretted over the eurozone debt crisis and geopolitical tensions between North and South Korea.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 1.75 percent at 5581.28 points.

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 249 million shares switch owners, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 189 million units change hands.

Fresnillo was the top blue-chip performer, adding 21 pence — or 1.50 percent — to end at 1425, followed by Rolls Royce, which rose 8 pence — or 1.35 percent — to end at 598.5.

Man Group led the fallers, shedding 14 pence — or 4.85 percent — to end at 274.5, followed by Vedanta, which was down 101 pence — or 4.55 percent — to end at 2120..

Elsewhere, the pound lost to the dollar but rose against the euro.

At 17:04 GMT, sterling was trading at 1.5815 dollars, down from 1.5957 at the same time on Monday, while the currency stood at 1.1815 euros, up from 1.1711 over the same period.

LONDON (AFP) – London’s stock market advanced at the start of trading on Wednesday tracking overnight gains in Tokyo and Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.41 percent to 5,568.90 points in early deals.

Wall Street had soared to its highest level in five months on Tuesday after Japan’s surprise move to lower interest rates and inject cash into the economy raised prospects for a similar move by US authorities.

Tokyo shares surged 1.81 percent on Wednesday, as investor sentiment brightened on the additional monetary easing steps by the Bank of Japan, as well as the overnight rally in New York.

LONDON (AFP) – Shares in London ended in the red on Wednesday as jobless claims unexpectedly spiked while investors remained worried over the health of the global economy.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares lost 0.21 percent to 5,555.56 points.

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 143 million shares switch owners, followed by Vodafone, which saw 71.8 million units change hands.

Retailer Next led the board, rising 136 pence — or 6.67 percent — to end at 2176, followed by M&S, climbing 12.60 pence — or 3.43 percent — to end at 379.6.

African Barrick was the biggest casualty, shedding 21 pence — or 3.39 percent — to end at 598, followed by oil giant BP losing 11.10 pence — or 2.67 percent — at 404.10.

Meanwhile, the pound strengthened both against the dollar and the euro.

At 17:12 BST, sterling was trading at 1.55636 dollars, up from 1.5539 dollars at the same time Tuesday, while the currency stood at 1.2019 euros, ascending from 1.1960 over the same period.