Greek settlement sparks shares surge

Stocks on Wall Street rebounded from a drop at the end of last week, sparked by agreement on Greece’s austerity package.

Earlier, other world sharemarkets also advanced, while US oil rose above $US100 a barrel for the first time in two weeks.

The measures were required for Greece to receive the international bailout funds needed to keep the country afloat.

Some uncertainty remains, however, given the violent protests and as a debt-restructuring deal with private creditors still hasn't been completed.

In other overnight developments, Apple shares broke above $US500 for the first time as technology stocks surged. On the day, Apple rose 1.6% and is up 23% for the year.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 72.81 points, or 0.6%, to 12,874.04. The S&P 500 index was up 0.7% to 1351.77 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.0%, to 2931.39.

Nineof the S&P's 10 sectors were higher, led by financials and telecommunications. Bank of America led blue chips higher, rising 2.4%. United Technologies rose 1.7%..

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European markets surged, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.7% to 263.09 after the Greek parliament passed the austerity

London's FTSE 100 was up 1% at 5910.22, Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.8% to 6747.34 and Paris' CAC-40 added 0.5% at 3390.50.

Most Asian markets gained. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.6% higher at 8999.18, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.9% to 4285.10, both notching their first gains in three sessions.

Korea's Kospi added 0.6% to 2005.74, its fifth gain in six sessions. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% to 20,887.40, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped fractionally to 2351.85, snapping a three-session winning streak.

In India, the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index added 0.1% to 17,772.84.

Commodities: Oil rises above $US100
Crude-oil futures rose to their highest level in two weeks. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $US1.63, or 1.6%, to $US100.30 a barrel in New York. Earlier, the contract rose to as high as $US100.62, its highest level since January 31.

Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe rose $US1.02, or 0.9%, to $US118.33 a barrel.

Gold futures eased slightly. Gold for April delivery declined 40 USc to settle at $US1724.90 an ounce in New York. It was gold’s second straight session in the red.

Currencies: Euro rises against US dollar
The euro advanced but pared early gains against the US dollar. The euro recently traded at $US1.3205, off its highs of the day but up from $US1.3199 late Friday.

The dollar was at ¥77.55 from ¥77.61, while the euro was at ¥102.40 compared with ¥102.48.

The UK pound traded at $US1.5775 compared with $US1.5755, while the dollar bought 0.9157 Swiss franc from 0.9166 franc.