NEW YORK (AFP) -- Global stocks regained vigor Thursday with European shares staging a powerful rebound and Wall Street rallying for a second day as investor jitters eased amid a tentative deal for a U.S. economic stimulus plan.

The gains in Europe and New York came after a mixed day in Asian markets and worry over a massive fraud at French bank Societe Generale, where a rogue trader racked up losses of 4.9 billion euros (7.15 billion dollars).
The leading blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.88 percent at 12,378.61. The tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 1.92 percent to 2,360.92 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.01 percent to 1,352.07.
U.S. shares notched up their gains despite a report showing the ailing U.S. housing market remained in a downturn. The National Association of Realtors said existing homes sales fell 2.2 percent in December.
Some of the worst fears of traders appeared to be eased as U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives struck a deal with the White House setting the stage for quick action on a 150-billion-dollar stimulus plan aimed at preventing or easing a recession.
""Some investors' economic fears may have been eased by reports that congressional leaders and President (George W.) Bush have reached an agreement on the terms of a proposed economic stimulus package,"" said Elizabeth Harrow at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
Europe's main stock markets leapt higher, recovering some of the massive losses from earlier this week.
The European bourses, like markets across the world, had gone into a nosedive earlier this week due to growing fears of a U.S. recession.
Trading in Societe Generale shares was suspended Thursday in Paris after the group said a sole rogue trader had been responsible for racking up the fraudulent losses.
Trading resumed
Trading later resumed and the shares closed 4.14 percent lower at 75.81 euros. The bank said the losses cut its 2007 profit to 600-800 million euros from 5.2 billion in 2006 and that it needed a 5.5 billion euro capital increase to restore its balance sheet.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon described the losses as ""serious"" but separate from recent turmoil on equity markets.
In other markets, Brazil's Bovespa surged 5.95 percent, while the Mexican Bovespa added 1.03 percent. In Canada, the S&P/TSX index rallied 1.97 percent. In Asia on Thursday, Hong Kong share prices reversed course and closed sharply lower as its finish coincided with news of the huge fraud and subprime-related losses at Societe Generale. The Hang Seng index lost 2.3 percent. ""Volatility shows no sign of abating,"" said Matt Buckland of CMC Markets in London.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 2.06 percent to above 13,000 points, two days after it had slid under the key level for the first time in 28 months. Seoul finished up 2.1 percent, Taipei gained 1.47 percent and Sydney rose 3.1 percent.
""Although it's too early to assess whether the troubles are over, the calming of U.S. markets has positively affected Asian markets,"" said Shinichi Ichikawa, strategist at Credit Suisse First Boston.
Market continued to digest the U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency rate cut Tuesday aimed at easing credit conditions.
With global markets in turmoil on concern that fallout from the U.S. housing market meltdown will force the world's biggest economy into recession and possibly lead to a global economic slowdown, the U.S. central bank slashed American borrowing costs.
The central bank unexpectedly cut its base rate by 0.75 percentage points, the biggest decrease since the Fed began using the federal funds rate as its main policy tool in the 1990s.