Global stock markets jumped while the euro rose broadly on Friday on optimism that last-minute concessions by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would clinch a deal with the country’s international creditors and save it from financial meltdown.
US stocks were up about 1 per cent in early trading, following gains in both European and Asian equities.
The euro jumped more than 2 per cent against the yen, while gold prices edged higher.
The gains follow a volatile week that saw Greece’s banks remain shut after the country voted in a referendum to reject previous bailout terms, raising chances of a “Grexit” from the euro.
The new Greek plan is by no means a done deal. Greece’s parliament still needs to throw its weight behind the proposals and trust with creditors needs to be rebuilt. But investors saw the latest news as reason to be upbeat.
“Should Greece find a momentary fit to its budgetary problems and stay in the euro zone, it would peel away a thick layer of uncertainty for the euro,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
The euro climbed to a one-week high against the yen of 137.27 yen and was last at 136.99, up 2.4 per cent. The euro zone common currency was on track for its largest one-day gain since April 2013. Against the dollar, the euro was up 1.2 per cent at $1.1167.MSCI’s all-country equities world index jumped 1.3 per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 171 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 17,719.62, the S&P 500 gained 20.37 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,071.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 58.10 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 4,980.50.
European shares were up 1.8 per cent.
