Stocks rise as commodities lead; Investors shake off China, Greece fears

Global stock markets shook off declines early in the Asian session as commodities firms lead the rally.

The S&P 500 is up 1.17 percent, or, 12.57 points to 1086.44 at 10:27 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.96 percent to trade at 10,163.84.

The Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index is up 2.15 percent and the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index is up 2.72 percent.

Exxon (NYSE:XOM), up 2.10 percent, and Alcoa (NYSE:AA), up 3.61 percent, lead the Dow. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) is up 2.05 percent, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is up 1.89 percent, Potash (NYSE:POT) is up 3.21 percent, and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BBL) is up 2.85 percent.

Oil prices rallied to $73.32 this morning and Exxon (NYSE:XOM) reported earnings of $1.27 per share for the quarter, which beat estimates but was down from the $1.54 figure in 2008. Revenues of $89.84 billion were up 6 percent year-on-year.

Wall Street firms are also among the leaders of the rally. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is up 1.69 percent and Morgan Stanley is up 3.21 percent.

Early in the Asian session, stock markets plunged on fears of Greek sovereign debt and speculation of Chinese tightening. Most indices, however, rallied in afternoon trading to close positive for the day. The Hong Kong Hang Seng closed up 0.61 percent and the Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up .07 percent.

The UK FTSE 100, which is up 0.7 percent, is being lifted by Legal & General (LON:LGEN), Aviva (LON:AV), Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS), and Barclays (LON:BARC). The four financial firms are up at least 2 percent in London trading.

At 9:00 am in Beijing, the Chinese government released a report stating that manufacturing activities expanded in January, although at a slower pace than the previous month. A separate report, released at 10:30 am, showed a manufacturing growth rate that was faster than the previous month.

The reports, which served as further evidence of the Chinese economic recovery, sparked fresh fears that China may continue to withdraw liquidity. Authorities have already raised bank reserve requirements and clamped down on lending. Investors fear an interest rate hike may be the next step.

Amelia Torres, a spokesperson for the European Commission, commented today on the Greek sovereign debt issue. Greece submitted a plan on January 5 to the commission to address this problem.

Torres commented that there are risks surrounding the plans but they are achievable. She also called for a process of monitoring the implementation of the plan and fundamental structural reforms in the Greek economy. The commission will issue its recommendation on Wednesday.

President Obama announced his $3.8 trillion 2011 budget proposal at 10:00 am today. The federal budget deficit is project to be $1.6 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011.

Fulfilling his vow to fight unemployment, the budget includes a $100 billion jobs package. Obama will also answer various questions submitted by YouTube users at 1:45 pm.