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New York / London - Global stocks and crude oil rose
on Wednesday on expectations a second bailout deal for Greece was close, a move
that would help the country avoid a messy default and allow investors to focus
on recent encouraging economic data from around the world.
Greek leaders are due to meet later to agree on a reform package
that includes painful austerity measures to secure a 130-billion-euro ($172
billion) rescue from the International Monetary Fund and European Union.
The euro rose early in the session to $1.3290, its highest level
since Dec. 12, before paring gains to trade near break-even.
US stocks also wavered after opening but traded slightly higher
as investors awaited news from Europe.
“They are pretty close on the debt talks, and it looks like the
prime minister is getting the various members of his coalition in line (so) that
they may actually get this done,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment
officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
“These folks have been at it for a very long time. They have been
fighting with this issue for about eighteen months, so they really do see this
as, ’We have to get it right this time.’“
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3.03 points, or 0.02%, at 12 881.23. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.66 points,
or 0.12%, at 1 348.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.11 points, or
0.14%, at 2 908.19.
Euro zone officials say the full bailout package must be agreed to
by Greece and approved by the euro zone, the European Central Bank and IMF
before Feb. 15.
Beyond Greece
Investors are keen to move past Greece and focus on evidence the
outlook for global economic growth is improving and on signs from the world’s
major central banks they will retain easier monetary policy stances, which
should support riskier assets.
The ECB’s provision of nearly half a trillion euros in low-rate,
long-term funds to banks in December helped prop up risk appetite with a second
tender, expected to be similar in size, due at the end of the month.
The ECB and the Bank of England both hold policy meetings on
Thursday, with the UK central bank expected to add an extra 50 billion pounds
($79.4 billion) of stimulus via bond purchases.
MSCI’s all-country world index, a leading indicator for global
equity portfolios, rose 0.5% and is up nearly 10% so far this
year.
European shares hit a fresh six-month high, with cyclical stocks
extending a strong run as investors became more confident economic growth would
boost company earnings and eclipse concerns about Greece.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose to fresh
six-month highs, up 0.2% at 1 075.33, for a gain of about 7.5% in
2012.
The mood was so buoyant that less-than-encouraging economic data
did not dent it. Germany reported the steepest drop in exports for nearly three
years in December, and the Bank of France said its economy would not grow at all
in the first quarter of 2012.
The German data suggested Europe’s dominant economy may have
contracted more than thought in the fourth quarter of last year, but recent
sentiment surveys pointed to only a brief dip.
“At the beginning of the year, the outlook for the German economy
has improved, with the global economy picking up pace again and the uncertainty
over the debt crisis easing,” Commerzbank economist Ulrike Rondorf said.
Debt markets also reflected the improved risk appetite, with
safe-haven German Bunds coming under pressure, although that did not affect
Germany’s sale of 3.3 billion euros of new five-year government bonds.
The sale drew good demand despite the optimism over a Greek deal,
drawing bids for 1.8 times the amount on offer.
The impact of the ECB’s efforts so far has been reflected in the
yield on two-year Italian government bonds, which is now close to an eight-month
low and has more than halved since late November.
Brent crude oil headed to its highest close in more than
six-months, propelled by falling US inventories, optimism over the prospects
for a bailout for Greece and tension between Iran and the West.
Front-month Brent gained 14 cents to $116.37 a barrel, its seventh
straight day of gains. It was on track for its highest close since early August.
US March crude rose $1.48 to $99.89 a barrel, buoyed by an
unplanned outage at a Canadian oil sands plant.
Spot gold prices fell $5.61 to $1 740.30 an ounce.
