Bankers voiced relief after world leaders abandoned a global bank levy and eased the timetable for new capital requirements at a G20 summit in Canada, which posed questions about the forum's effectiveness.

Investors bought some global equities, especially bank shares, after members of the US Congress hammered out a landmark financial regulation package on Friday, removing uncertainty, and the G20 dropped a 2012 deadline for more stringent risk-provisioning rules.

The euro fell broadly on potential funding tensions in Europe. The Swiss franc hit a record high against the single currency after comments by a Swiss central bank board member that its strength was not hurting the country's economy.

US stocks also gained, rebounding from losses last week, after data showed consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in May. Consumer staples companies' shares were among the top advancers.

"This week could be a pretty good one after the retreat we saw last week. People will continue to focus on data, particularly the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes tomorrow and US non-farm payrolls on Friday," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research in Frankfurt.

US consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in May even as savings touched their highest level in eight months, pointing to a recovery that remains on solid ground.

Consumer spending is being closely watched to gauge the strength of the economic recovery after a series of reports suggested growth is slackening.

A government report on Friday showed consumer spending, which normally accounts for 70 percent of US economic activity, rose at a 3 percent pace in the January-March quarter — slower than the 3.5 percent the government had estimated last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17.16 points, or 0.17 percent, at 10,160.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.22 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,077.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.65 points, or 0.25 percent, at 2,229.13.

MSCI's all-country world stock index rose 0.4 percent while more risk-sensitive emerging market counterpart gained 0.5 percent.

European shares snapped four sessions of losses to close higher, led by banking shares, with sentiment lifted by upbeat US consumer spending data. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares climbed 1.3 percent to end at 1,026.68 points.

Barclays, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas gained 1.5 percent to 3.6 percent, benefiting from the G20's decision to adopt a more flexible timetable for lenders to implement new capital rules.

Oil fell to around $78 a barrel after earlier touching the highest in almost eight weeks, as concern eased about whether tropical storm Alex would disrupt supply in the Gulf of Mexico.

Over the weekend, Alex became the first named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which forecasters expect to be active. They said the storm could become a hurricane on Monday or Tuesday.

Spot gold retreated to $1,247.45 an ounce at midday, down from $1,253.40 in Friday's late New York trading and off Monday's intraday peak at $1,262.45 as investors took some profits from bullion's recent run. Wall Street's gains also took some luster off gold's safe-haven appeal.

The euro faces downward pressure in coming days, as the European Central Bank's one-year loans worth 442 billion euros expired and the currency failed to make headway after a G20 summit.

Investors favored the Swiss franc, which hit a record high against the euro and an eight-week peak versus the U.S. dollar.

Swiss National Bank board member Jean-Pierre Danthine was quoted in the l'agefi newspaper as saying deflationary risks have disappeared, and Swiss exports have proven to be robust despite a stronger currency.

The euro fell 1.1 percent to a record low 1.3373 francs in morning trading in New York. Danthine's comments followed the SNB's move to back off a pledge to fight excessive appreciation of the franc earlier this month.

The euro was down 0.70 percent at $1.2288 per dollar.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was up 0.07 percent at 89.27.

Safe-haven US Treasuries rose, pushing benchmark yields to one-year lows as speculators, emboldened by a recent batch of subdued economic data, pushed for a break of key technical resistance levels.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 19/32, with the yield at 3.044 percent. The 2-year US Treasury note was up 1/32, with the yield at 0.6289 percent. The 30-year US Treasury bond was up 24/32, with the yield at 4.025 percent.