US markets gain; Dow advances 106 pts & Asian markets trading higher; Nikkei up 2.5%

US markets gain as banks got a boost from news that the government may suspend a mark-to-market accounting rule, which is blamed for much of the contagion in the financial industry. Also, senate democrats are indicating that a deal could be near on President Obama's $ 800 billion stimulus plan.

In economic news, initial jobless claims rose to 6.26 lakh last week, the highest since October 1982. Meanwhile, productivity jumped 3.2% in the fourth quarter. But factory orders for December slumped 3.9%.

Slightly better news came from the housing sector, where a bottom for the housing market in the US is likely in the fourth quarter, according to a report by Moody's economy.com.

The Dow industrials gained 106.41 points, or 1.34%, to 8,063.07. The S&P 500 index added 13.62 points, or 1.64%, to 845.85, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 31.19 points, or 2.06%, to 1,546.24.