A burst of buying in US stocks defied slumps in other markets and offered hope for investors shaken by geopolitical turmoil.

Better results from retailers and demand for telecommunications shares market helped push the stock market to a small gain yesterday.

THE Dow hit a seven-month low last night as increases in jobless claims and the trade deficit and a slowdown in China’s export growth spurred concern the economy may falter.

Wall Street rallied today after better-than-expected quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase and two other Dow Jones industrials raised investors' hopes that companies and the economy are indeed recovering from the protracted global credit crisis.

MARKETS across the globe will be more than a little jittery this morning after Friday's plunge in New York.