US stocks moved up Monday following news of a possible $5 billion capital raising by a big name mortgage lender provide some good news for  investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 84 points 0r 0.67%  to 12694. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 11 points to 1382 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12 points to 2384.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Washington Mutual was close to a deal to receive a $5 billion injection from private-equity firm TPG and other investors. An agreement could help boost investor confidence in financial service firms.

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In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.8% Monday and  Swiss drugs company Novartis agreed to pay about $11 billion for a stake in Nestle's Alcon Inc, the maker of the Opti-Free contact lens treatment and the Travatan glaucoma medicine. Novartis' shares fell 1.43% in Zurich.

National benchmark indexes rose in all of the 18 western European markets. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 1.1% as did Germany's DAX Index, while France's CAC 40 added 0.9%.

In Dublin, the ISEQ Index rose 0.59%.

FBD Holdings rose 15.69% on news that the general insurer had received a ``preliminary'' takeover approach from Dutch company Eureko BV.

The approach is ``unclear, appears to differentiate among shareholders and is highly conditional,'' Dublin-based FBD said in a statement today. There is ``no certainty that a formal offer will be forthcoming or that any transaction will occur,'' it said.

Iona Technology rose 4.78%.