US stocks recover as Japan nuclear fears subside

The Dow Jones posted strong gains in early trading on Thursday as a cooling operation at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant eased investor fears.

After falling 3.6% since Friday's close and following three straight sessions of losses, the index advanced more than 150 points, or 1.3%, to 11,766.

Elsewhere, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3% to 2,652 while the S&P 500, boosted by the industrial and energy sectors, added 1.5% to 1,276.

European markets continued to rebound strongly with the FTSE up 1.4% to 5,677, the French Cac up 1.8% to 3,763 and the German Dax advancing more than 2.% to 6,650.

In London, miners led the gains with Kazakhmys, Xstrata and BHP Billiton all up on strengthening metal prices.

Meanwhile, the yen pulled back from an overnight post WW2 high against the dollar, ahead of potential intervention by the Japanese government to force the currency lower.

The US dollar plummeted versus the yen shortly after the US markets closed on Wednesday amid talk Japanese companies and individuals were buying the currency to bring money home in the wake of the earthquake.

The dollar recently traded at 78.69 yen, from 79.85 late yesterday in New York. It hit 76.25 yen in early Asian trade.