By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A measure of global equity markets advanced on Tuesday as technology earnings lifted U.S. shares and the prospect of European Central Bank corporate bond purchases boosted European stocks, while weighing on safe-haven U.S. Treasuries prices.
Shares of Apple Inc
"Any fund manager who is underweight on Apple is probably rethinking that position today," said Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Minneapolis-based Gradient Investments, which owns Apple stock.
A selloff in Coca-Cola
The Reuters report that the ECB is considering buying corporate bonds sparked a rally in the shares of peripheral European countries and led the broader gains in European stocks. The purchases are seen as helping banks free up more of their balance sheets for lending. The news also sent low-risk U.S. Treasuries prices down and hurt the euro.
"It increases the potential scale of the purchases the ECB will be able to make if they extend out into the corporate bond market," said Lee Hardman, a strategist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London.
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was last up 1.3 percent at 405.13, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares closed up 2.09 percent at 1,299.26.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was last up 1.21 percent, at 16,598.5, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 1.88 percent at 1,939.77. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 2.31 percent at 4,415.63.
The dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, was up 0.42 percent, to 85.308.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were last down 7/32 in price to yield 2.21 percent.
Oil prices rose. Brent crude
(Additional reporting by Marc Jones and Patrick Graham in London, Ryan Vlastelica and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)
