EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks End At Best Level In Nearly A Month On Greek Pact, Oil
May 25 2016 - 12:22PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
Energy shares rally as oil tries for $50
European stocks closed with strong gains Wednesday, as
international creditors reached a deal to unlock more bailout funds
for Greece and oil prices gained.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 1.3% to finish at 348.56, scoring
its highest close since April 28, according to FactSet data. The
pan-European index nabbed a second consecutive gain, after
Tuesday's session closed up by 2.2%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-turn-higher-led-by-gains-for-banks-2016-05-24).
Greek deal: Greece is now in line to receive 10.3 billion euros
($11.48 billion) in new loans
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/breakthrough-greek-debt-deal-reached-with-eurozone-imf-2016-05-24),
if a deal struck early Wednesday is signed off by the 19 countries
comprising the eurozone.
The new payout comes after eurozone finance ministers and the
International Monetary Fund agreed that Greece has made the
necessary progress on reforms. The funding will help Athens from
defaulting on large debt redemptions to the IMF and European
Central Bank in July. The ministers also agreed on a potential road
map on debt relief for Greece.
"Greece's creditors reached a deal to avoid a summer car crash
in a way that only they know how, involving extension of
maturities, adjustment of interest rate payments with a good dose
of things still to be decided, some of them after the German
federal elections next year," said Simon Smith, chief economist at
FxPro, in a note.
"Still, for the single currency, this has removed one of the
potential risks for the summer, with the deal unusually being
reached comfortably ahead of the loan disbursement next month," he
said.
The euro was up 0.2% to $1.1160.
Oil: Energy shares were supported as oil prices crept toward $50
a barrel
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-rockets-to-near-50-a-barrel-as-data-hints-at-us-supply-drop-2016-05-25),
with the move coming after data pointed to decreases in U.S. crude
inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude briefly traded as high
as $49.62 a barrel on Wednesday, according to FactSet data, but
recently was up 0.6% to $48.90 a barrel.
Among energy producers, Spain's Repsol SA (REPYY) rose 3.7%, and
Italy's Eni SpA (ENI.MI) gained 3.5%.
Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 finished 1.5% at 10,205.21, while
France's CAC 40 moved up 1.1% to 4,481.64. The U.K's FTSE 100 rose
0.7% to end at 6,262.85
Movers: Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) shares dropped
10% as the apparel and food retailer said profit fell 19% and
warned on margins
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marks-spencer-profit-down-19-warns-on-margins-2016-05-25).
Regus PLC (RGU.LN) shares bulked up 4% after RBC raised its
rating on the outsourcing services company to outperform from
sector perform.
Economic news: From Germany, the Ifo business-climate index rose
to 107.7 in May
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-ifo-business-climate-index-rises-in-may-2016-05-25),
better than the 106.8 reading expected by economists survey by The
Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 25, 2016 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)
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