Stocks advanced in the United States and Europe on Wednesday.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up one-half of one percent in early day trading. The S & P 500 is ahead seven-tenths of a percent, while the NASDAQ is up 1.1 percent.

European stock prices are sharply higher in afternoon trading.

London's Financial Times index is up 3.4 percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is ahead 4.1 percent, while the DAX index in Frankfurt is up 5 percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei index fell nine-tenths of one percent to finish at 8,383. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was closed.

Gold is trading down $10.18 at $1,613.65 an ounce.

The dollar is trading up against both the euro and yen.