FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2012 file photo,trader Luigi Muccitelli, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were hopeful Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, that a long-awaited deal to allow Greece to claim its second bailout was near despite another delay to discussions between the country's political leaders. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2012 file photo,trader Luigi Muccitelli, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were hopeful Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, that a long-awaited deal to allow Greece to claim its second bailout was near despite another delay to discussions between the country's political leaders. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday on hope that a long-awaited deal to allow Greece to claim its second bailout was near despite another delay in discussions between the country's political leaders.
Dow futures are up 17 points at 12,848. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures are up less than a point to 1,345. The Nasdaq composite rose 3 points to 2,532.
Though a host of deadlines have passed without agreement, the prevailing view in the markets is that a deal for Greece to get its hands on ?130 billion ($170 billion) will be secured.
Greek coalition leaders are studying a draft deal on further austerity measures demanded to secure a new bailout that will determine whether the country avoids bankruptcy next month.
The office of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said Wednesday that the heads of the three parties backing his interim government received the 50-page document, drafted with the country's debt inspectors, earlier in the day. A meeting of Papademos and party leaders was delayed for two hours to give parties more time to study the draft.
The talks had been delayed for three days to make time for exhaustive negotiations with representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on whose approval the continued flow of Greece's vital rescue loans depends. Without the bailout, Greece would not have enough money to pay off a big bond redemption next month, triggering a default that could send shockwaves around financial markets and the global economy.
Greece has been kept solvent for the last two years by ?110 billion ($145 billion) in international rescue loans. But the money was not enough and a second loan is urgently needed to avert bankruptcy.
That optimism helped European and Asian markets rise. Asian stocks also got a boost from a decline in the yen, which is good for Japanese exporters.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.3 percent at 5,907 while Germany's DAX rose 0.7 percent to 6,800. The CAC-40 in France was 0.5 percent higher at 3,427.
The euro clambered higher, trading up 0.1 percent at $1.3275, a fresh two-month high.
Earlier in the day, Asian stocks posted sharp gains following a retreat of the yen that was welcomed by Japan's mighty export sector. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 1.1 percent to close at 9,015.59, its highest finish since Oct. 28.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.5 percent to 21,018.46 while mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.4 percent to 2,347.53 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.8 percent to 893.82.
Oil prices tracked equities higher ? benchmark oil for March delivery was up 95 cents to $99.37 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Associated Pressfavicon.ico favicon.ico footloose best iphone 4 case best iphone 4 case sonic youth sonic youth
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.