World stock markets rose further Monday in the wake of upbeat comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and signs of an improvement in the US housing market. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 32.58 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,883.47 while Germany's DAX rose 41.09 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,503.83. The CAC-40 in France was 22.98 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 3,638.79. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.99 points, or 0.5 percent, at 9,553.95 soon after the open while the broader Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 6.2 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,032.33. Monday's gains were smaller than those recorded in Asia, where investors took their cue from Europe and the US on Friday, when optimism was buoyed by Bernanke's comments that prospects for a near-term economy recovery in the US and around the world appeared good. Also boosting confidence was a better-than-expected rise in US home sales.
