Global stocks and oil surge

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks and crude oil prices jumped 3.0 percent or more on Wednesday after blockbuster earnings from Intel and a raft of economic news suggested the U.S. economy may be pulling out of a deep recession.

Oil almost topped $62 a barrel at one point on data showing a fall in U.S. crude inventories and after strong results from Goldman Sachs and Intel on Tuesday lifted hopes for recovery.

Safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar and government debt tumbled as investors shifted into higher-yielding currencies and drove up the price of gold and industrial metals. The U.S. dollar fell to a one-month low against major currencies.

Data showing factories in New York state nearly recovered from recession in July lifted spirits, leading investors to shrug off forecasts from the Federal Reserve for 2009-2011 that said the U.S. jobless rate could top 10 percent this year.

The rally in stocks pushed the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index up 6.1 percent so far this week -- lifting it again into positive territory for 2009 -- in the best three-day advance since stocks surged off a decade low in March.

The Dow and Nasdaq each gained more than 3.0 percent, while the MSCI all-country world index rose 2.97 percent. Emerging markets also surged, with MSCI's emerging equities index climbing almost 4.0 percent.

The release of Intel's results after the bell on Tuesday set the tone for a worldwide rally in equities, with the technology bellwether handily beating profit estimates on demand for personal computers that was better than expected.

Intel's shares jumped 7.3 percent.