Stocks climb on hopes over Greek deal, gold price falls
New York (Jun 22) A new offer by Greece on a reform package to avoid a default on its debts raised hopes that a tangible deal with international creditors was still possible, lifting world stock indexes and pushing down gold prices on Monday.
Gold prices fell more than 1 percent, while crude oil futures also eased.
Euro zone finance ministers left a meeting with Greek officials optimistic over Athens' offer, with talk of more work ahead to achieve a potential deal this week.
The ministers agreed to reconvene before the week is over, after Greece thrashed out details with its international creditors the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
"Now you're seeing the leaders of (euro zone) countries meeting to reach a deal and the hope that a deal is on the horizon is reflected in the rally today," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The euro was nearly flat against the dollar, while it was up against the yen and Swiss franc. The euro rose 0.79 percent to 140.42 yen.
MSCI's all-country stock index climbed 1.1 percent.
Greek stocks were 9 percent higher, while Greek bank shares surged 20.8 percent. European shares ended up 2.4 percent.
M&A BOOST
Wall Street got a boost from both the Greek talks and a surge in merger and acquisition activity.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.79 points, or 0.52 percent, to 18,109.74, the S&P 500 gained 11.67 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,121.66 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.85 points, or 0.54 percent, to 5,144.85.
U.S. Treasuries prices tumbled on optimism over a Greek deal and as stronger-than-expected U.S. existing home sales data supported expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate hike.
Benchmark 10-year prices were last down 27/32 to yield 2.36 percent, from a yield of 2.27 percent late Friday.
The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales increased 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.35 million units, the highest in five and a half years.
The data was the latest indication that housing and overall economic activity were gathering steam in the second quarter.
Source: Brecorder
