Stocks in Europe and the US rallied overnight, with a big jump in US housing starts, good German business confidence and a healthy appetite for Spanish debt.

Worries over the fate of the euro and the EU's member states continue to drag on the single currency and equities in Europe and on Wall Street.

The euro has fallen to an 11-month low versus the US dollar and global equities are extending losses on Wall St.

Stocks were mixed overnight as investors weighed a round of warnings by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's in two days that would boost borrowing costs throughout the euro zone.

Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic dropped, as did the euro, after investors demanded the highest yield since 1997 to buy Italian debt and Spanish bonds hit the radar.

Wall St advanced overnight as investors focused on some positive news from the home front, including better-than-expected jobless claims data and Cisco Systems earnings.

Markets fell overnight on both sides of the Atlantic as Italy's borrowing costs soared, intensifying concern that efforts to contain the European Union's debt crisis aren't working.

Stocks on Wall St and in Europe rose after an unexpected interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and the vote backdown from the Greek PM.

World sharemarkets dropped overnight after the Greek Prime Minister sought to silence critics by unexpectedly calling for a referendum.

Halloween is likely to be a lot less spooky than it appeared to be mere days ago with October set to close as the best performing month for Wall Street in decades.

Shares soared in Europe overnight and are well up on Wall St after European leaders agreed on a Greek debt deal.