Global stocks were trading higher Tuesday as investors awaited a key Greek parliamentary vote that could go a long way to determining whether the country avoids a default on its debts. Investors are hoping that Prime Minister George Papadreou of Greece will muster enough votes to get the 28 billion euro ($40 billion) austerity bill through Parliament in a vote Wednesday.
A majority of the 300 deputies must approve the spending cuts and tax increases for the country to get its next batch of bailout funds — worth 12 billion euros — from last year’s 110 billion euro bailout package. But the measures are proving unpopular, and Greek unions began striking Tuesday in the hopes of pressuring lawmakers to vote against the package.
If the package fails, Greece will face a default on its debts even though French banks are planning to accept slower repayment of their holdings of Greek bonds.
“Despite today’s general strike, there still seems to be an optimistic tone that the austerity measures will be passed tomorrow and the bailout can move to the next stage,” said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index. “There is still a lot that could go wrong, but with the way markets have performed over the last couple of days, some are hoping that finally sentiment has turned a corner and it is time for a recover.”
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9 percent at 5,773 points, while France’s CAC 40 rose 1.1 percent to 3,839. Germany’s DAX was 0.3 percent higher at 7,127.
Wall Street was poised for a higher opening; Dow futures were up 35 points.
A calmer mood over the Greek debt crisis has helped shore up the euro over the past few sessions. It was trading modestly higher Tuesday, up 0.1 percent to $1.4298.
Though the euro is being shored up by expectations that the Greek austerity package will pass, analysts reckon it will remain buffeted by the country’s debt crisis for a long time to come. Even if Greece does get the next batch of bailout funds, many economists think the country will have to restructure its 340 billion euro debt some time in the years to come. Some think it’s possible it may happen even sooner.
“The real issue, however, remains that Greece is only ever more unlikely to hit the renewed austerity targets which means we risk being no further forward at the next I.M.F. program review in September,” said James Nixon, co-chief European economist at Société Générale.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7 percent to close at 9,648.98 but shares on South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 2,062.91. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent to 22,061.78. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.3 percent higher at 4,474.30.
Mainland Chinese shares rose too with the Shanghai Composite Index edging up less than 0.1 percent higher to 2,759.20 while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 1,152.00.
Oil prices clawed back some ground lost in the wake of last week’s decision by the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of crude over 30 days. Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 87 cents to $91.48 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A majority of the 300 deputies must approve the spending cuts and tax increases for the country to get its next batch of bailout funds — worth 12 billion euros — from last year’s 110 billion euro bailout package. But the measures are proving unpopular, and Greek unions began striking Tuesday in the hopes of pressuring lawmakers to vote against the package.
If the package fails, Greece will face a default on its debts even though French banks are planning to accept slower repayment of their holdings of Greek bonds.
“Despite today’s general strike, there still seems to be an optimistic tone that the austerity measures will be passed tomorrow and the bailout can move to the next stage,” said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index. “There is still a lot that could go wrong, but with the way markets have performed over the last couple of days, some are hoping that finally sentiment has turned a corner and it is time for a recover.”
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9 percent at 5,773 points, while France’s CAC 40 rose 1.1 percent to 3,839. Germany’s DAX was 0.3 percent higher at 7,127.
Wall Street was poised for a higher opening; Dow futures were up 35 points.
A calmer mood over the Greek debt crisis has helped shore up the euro over the past few sessions. It was trading modestly higher Tuesday, up 0.1 percent to $1.4298.
Though the euro is being shored up by expectations that the Greek austerity package will pass, analysts reckon it will remain buffeted by the country’s debt crisis for a long time to come. Even if Greece does get the next batch of bailout funds, many economists think the country will have to restructure its 340 billion euro debt some time in the years to come. Some think it’s possible it may happen even sooner.
“The real issue, however, remains that Greece is only ever more unlikely to hit the renewed austerity targets which means we risk being no further forward at the next I.M.F. program review in September,” said James Nixon, co-chief European economist at Société Générale.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7 percent to close at 9,648.98 but shares on South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 2,062.91. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent to 22,061.78. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.3 percent higher at 4,474.30.
Mainland Chinese shares rose too with the Shanghai Composite Index edging up less than 0.1 percent higher to 2,759.20 while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 1,152.00.
Oil prices clawed back some ground lost in the wake of last week’s decision by the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of crude over 30 days. Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 87 cents to $91.48 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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