YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Despite a downward drift in afternoon action, stocks were able to march considerably higher in broad-based fashion for the second straight session as overseas gains and a weaker U.S. dollar kept buyers in the market.

The major indices started markedly higher as the previous session's gains were extended amid news that by Australia's Reserve Bank hiked its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%. Though the rate hike may strike some as an unlikely impetus for higher stock prices, global participants were encouraged by the symbolism of the act, since it suggests that the global economy has strengthened. That consideration helped drive the Dow Jones World Index to a 1.9% gain, which is its best percentage gain in two months.

Weakness in the U.S. dollar continues to bode well for stocks, especially for shares of multinationals. The Dollar Index dropped 0.5% this session, but it is still trading above its 2009 lows.

Commodities were helped considerably by the dollar's decline. In turn, the CRB Commodity Index tacked on 1.3%. Gold was one of the best performing assets this session. It spiked to a record intraday high of $1045 per ounce, before it settled with a 2.2% gain at a record closing high of $1039.70 per ounce.

The dollar's drop and gold's gains helped materials stocks show leadership in the early going, but as the greenback pared its losses midsession and pulled the materials sector back from its near 3% gain, the broader market drifted off of its midday highs. A pullback by financials, which were leaders in the previous session, also undercut the broader market. Goldman Sachs (GS 186.98, +0.51) weighed considerably on the sector as participants pressured the stock in high volume.

However, the stock market was able to recover from the afternoon drift as materials stocks and financial stocks rebounded. Materials stocks settled with a 1.9% gain, while financials finished 1.2% higher. That helped the stock market finish on a relatively positive note and book a two-session gain of 2.9%, its best back-to-back performance in more than one month.

There weren't any economic releases this session and only a handful of companies made announcements ahead of earnings season's start tomorrow night. Participants had little reaction to results from an auction 3-year Treasuries. Key tests of interest will come later this week with the auctions of 10-year Notes and 30-year Bonds.

Advancing Sectors: Energy (+2.1%), Materials (+1.9%), Tech (+1.9%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.5%), Telecom (+1.2%), Financials (+1.2%), Industrials (+1.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.9%), Health Care (+0.8%), Utilities (+0.7%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +131.50 NASDAQ +35.42 NQ100 +1.8% R2K +1.8% SP400 +1.4% SP500 +14.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2007/2.42 bln/675 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2414/1.23 bln/621