Global shares recouped losses Tuesday as investors bought up beaten-down stocks, but with Europe's debt crisis still brewing and the U.S. yet to sanction an increase in its debt ceiling, investors remain wary of pushing the gains too far, according to AP. After a hammering Monday that saw bank shares lead a global rout and investors flee to gold and other safe haven assets, markets staged a comeback Tuesday. Oil prices and the euro jumped, too. However, the factors that contributed to the previous day's slump remain unchanged, including concern that Europe's debt crisis could swallow Italy and Spain and that the U.S. won't raise its debt ceiling in time to avoid a default. Analysts warned that these will remain the predominant concern of investors. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.7 percent at 5,793 while Germany's DAX rose 1.3 percent to 7,197. The CAC-40 in France was 1.3 percent higher at 3,699. Wall Street also rallied at the open, aided by the release of strong home construction figures. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 1 percent at 12,510 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 1 percent to 1,318. The market value of News Corp. rose by around $1.5 billion while Rupert Murdoch and his son were being grilled by a British Parliamentary committee over phone hacking at the News of the World tabloid. The stock was trading 3.8 percent higher at $15.54. The main point of interest this week will likely be Thursday's meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels. They are due to discuss a second bailout package for Greece, which relies on such lifelines to meet its obligations. Just two days ahead of the meeting, it remains unclear whether a mechanism whereby Greece avoids a default will be clinched. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that the meeting would not yield a quick and comprehensive solution to crisis. One key concern is if the credit rating agencies say Greece is in default following the bailout package, which could create new market instability. The European Central Bank, for example, has warned it won't accept Athens' bonds as collateral for the money it loans to Greek banks. That would mean Greek banks would need to find another source of funding. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, wants private bondholders to absorb some losses on Greek bonds - which the agencies have previously stated would likely constitute a default. The euro has largely managed to withstand pressures of a potential Greek default in recent weeks, and was trading 0.5 percent higher at $1.4196. Markets are also keeping a close watch on developments in the U.S., where lawmakers are wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, which caps the amount of government borrowing. The limit must be raised by Aug. 2, or Washington could be forced to choose who to pay back and who to stiff - in other words, to default. -- SPA
