1.   Prices were lifted after budget negotiators in Washington cancelled meetings today and delayed talks aimed at reaching a balanced-budget agreement.

2.   Also, speculation that the recent spate of central bank gold sales will ebb in the coming year, could also help lift gold prices further.

3.   Analysts are predicting that takeovers could lift share prices in some sectors.

4.   Analysts said there was still confusion over whether China is poised to buy large quantities of copper, an event that could lift prices.

5.   An outright buying operation by the Bank of Japan failed to lift prices as trading activity continued to dwindle.

6.   And that in turn helps stocks by making it cheaper for companies to borrow, leaving more for profits and potentially lifting stock prices as well.

7.   And the prospect of a resolution of the long-running antitrust case helped lift share prices in general.

8.   Attractive valuations, combined with an agreement with the IMF last year and other positive news in the public sector, helped lift stock prices last year.

9.   A barge accident in the Houston Ship Channel in Texas that temporarily blocked traffic also lifted prices.

10.   A better than expected consumer confidence report and routine bargain hunting lifted stock prices on Wednesday.