The Dow Jones rose 20 points to an unofficial close of 10,687tonight, while
the Nasdaq Composite added 1 point to 2,248 and the S&P500 gained 2 points at 1,263.
In Asia today, The Nikkei closed up 288.24 points at 15,648.89, while the Hang Seng reached the midpoint up 33.34 points at 15,498.11.
Oil continued to weaken with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, down 40 cents at $67.70 a barrel from its close of $68.10 in the US.
Early broker notes:
SAINSBURY DOWNGRADED TO 'SELL' VS 'HOLD' AT DEUTSCHE BANK
WILLIAM HILL INITIATED 'NEUTRAL' AT HSBC; PRICE TARGET 619P
BRITIVIC INITIATED 'BUY' AT DEUTSCHE BANK; PRICE TARGET 295P