However, traders remained cautious as they await a potential credit downgrade of 15 euro member countries -- including France and Germany -- while the IMF warned of a miserable outlook for the global economy. Tokyo gained 0.38 percent by the break, Hong Kong rose 0.35 percent, Sydney added 0.32 percent, Shanghai was 0.15 percent higher and Seoul climbed 0.34 percent. Regional markets took a breather after three straight sessions of losses caused by growing concern that last week's European deal for tighter budgetary rules and closer integration may not do enough to halt the eurozone's plight. Traders took their cue from the United States and Europe, where some rare positive news boosted sentiment. Spain -- which has been subject to speculation it could buckle under a huge debt mountain -- enjoyed a bumper bond sale, raising nearly twice the amount targeted as it snatched the chance to lock in competitive borrowing rates. The treasury raised 6.0 billion euros ($7.8 billion), far above its 2.5-3.5 billion euro target. The result allowed the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy to distance itself from Italy, which was forced to pay record high borrowing rates in a bond sale just a day earlier. And in Washington the Labor Department announced new claims for government unemployment benefits fell last week to levels not see since May 2008, which, coming a week after a big fall in unemployment, raised hopes for the US economy. Also the Commerce Department said the US trade deficit fell to its lowest level in almost two years, while readings on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia and New York regions hit six-month highs. "We had more good news than we've had for a long time -- the Spanish bond auction went well and US data was strong," said IG Markets institutional dealer Chris Weston. "But we've got these potential European sovereign debt ratings looming over the market," he added, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Standard & Poor's last week put 15 of the 17 eurozone countries on a downgrade warning citing tightening credit, rising bond yields and deteriorating economic conditions. It said it would make a final decision after the EU summit last Friday, which many said did not do enough to avoid a ratings cut. Investor fears were echoed by International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who warned that the European crisis was escalating and threatened every economy in the world. "The issues that we have in front of us now are not just a concern for the eurozone, not just a concern for the European Union, not just a concern for the advanced economies," she told a forum at the US State Department. "There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies, that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating." On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.38 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.32 percent and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.07 percent. And in Europe London's FTSE-100 closed up 0.63 percent, the Paris CAC-40 rose 0.76 percent and Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.98 percent, while Madrid was up 0.84 percent and Milan put on 1.37 percent. The euro, which bounced back on Thursday after hitting 11-month lows against the dollar, stood at $1.3035 and 101.50 yen in Asian trade, up from $1.3017 and 101.41 yen overnight in New York. The dollar bought 77.87 yen, compared with 77.89 yen in New York. On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, fell eight cents to $93.79 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery shed 65 cents to $103.60 on its first trading day. Gold was trading at $1,579.23 an ounce at 0945 GMT, against $1,575.70 an ounce late Thursday.