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New York / London - Stocks and the euro rose on
Monday on relief after the Greek parliament passed sweeping austerity measures,
but gains looked fragile with several issues still to be resolved before the
shadow of a messy debt default is lifted.
Key Wall Street indexes opened more than half percent higher and
US crude oil prices topped $100 a barrel after Greek lawmakers backed drastic
budget cuts in exchange for a €130bn euro bailout from the European Union
and the International Monetary Fund.
“There was some apprehension about it, but the fact of the matter
is it was done, and it’s given some very real clarity to the markets in terms of
what kind of risk Greece represents to the market,” said Peter Kenny, managing
director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Half an hour after the open, the Dow Jones industrial average was
up 59.11 points, or 0.46%, at 12 860.34. The Standard & Poor’s 500
Index rose 7.75 points, or 0.58%, to 1 350.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index
gained 22.56 points, or 0.78%, at 2 926.44.
World stocks climbed 0.77% according to the MSCI All-Country
World Index while Europe’s FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.7%.
The euro was up 0.2% at $1.3221, recouping some of the
losses made on Friday.
Still, concerns about whether Greece will be able to fulfil its
tough austerity promises left some investors cautious, keeping demand steady for
safe-haven U.S. Treasuries.
Before Greece can secure a second rescue and get the $14.5 billion
euros it needs to meet debt repayments due on March 20, the Greek government
must convince a skeptical euro zone that it would stick to the terms of the
deal.
The focus is now on a euro zone finance ministers meeting on
Wednesday that is due to decide on approval of the next 130-billion euro aid
package.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 3/32 in price, with
the yield at 1.9741 percent.
US crude oil rose 1.4 percent to $100.05 per barrel.
