The gains were capped by a credit rating downgrade of Italy and a warning from the International Monetary Fund that the global economy is growing far slower than anticipated and has entered a "dangerous phase."
The markets centered their focus, however, on Greece. The country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos is to hold a teleconference Tuesday evening with officials from the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, collectively known as the troika, to convince them the country will meet strict budget targets promised in return for the rescue funds.
Markets appear fairly hopeful that Greece will do enough to get its hands on the money and avoid a default that could plunge Europe's banking system into turmoil.
The euro and all Europe's main markets were in positive territory, including the Milan exchange. The euro was buoyed too, trading 0.5 percent higher at $1.3681.
Germany's DAX was 1.4 percent higher at 5,493 while the CAC-40 in France rose 0.1 percent to 2,944. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9 percent at 5,307.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 percent at 11,418 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a similar rate to 1,207.
Though investors think Greece will avoid a default, the consensus is that the country will have to restructure its debts in some form next year given that it's likely to remain mired in recession.
Beyond Europe, investors will also be monitoring the latest two-day policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which begins Tuesday.
Many economists expect the Fed to announce some measures to jolt the sputtering U.S. economy.
Last month, the Fed promised to keep its key interest rate near zero through mid-2013.
Some economists expect the Fed to eventually try for the third time to stimulate growth through a program to buy Treasurys to lower long-term interest rates. That's a step known as "quantitative easing."
"With the global economy buffeted by the recent equity market volatility and downside risks emanating from the eurozone debt and banking crisis, the odds favour the Fed signaling its intent to loosen policy again
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.6 percent to close at 8,721.24 as export shares sagged amid a persistently strong yen that weighs on company profits. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1 percent to 4,040.20.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters Tuesday that the recent sharp rise of the yen has slowed the pace of the country's economic recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo has not ruled out intervening in the currency market to stem the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies.
The dollar was 0.1 percent lower at 76.55 yen.
Though Japanese stocks fell, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 19,014.80 and South Korea's Kospi ended 0.9 percent higher at 1,837.97. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 2,447.76 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was 0.4 percent higher at 1,071.60.
Oil prices tracked equities higher too — benchmark oil for October delivery was up 12 cents at $85.95 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange - For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today
asian stock market sept 20 2011, stock market crash september 20 2011, oil prices 20 sept 2011, Europe stock market sept 20 2011, Japanese stocks sept 20 2011, Germany's DAX sept 20 2011, For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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