Markets slightly higher Monday after Greece austerity plan approved
The Canadian Press
Posted: Feb 13, 2012 5:40 AM ET
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2012 4:53 PM ET
People walk past graffiti that reads 'rob to gain money' on a wall of the central bank of Greece in Athens on Monday after a weekend of rioting. Firefighters were dousing smouldering buildings and cleanup crews swept up rubble. (Dimitri Messinis/Associated Press)
Related
The Toronto stock market was little changed Monday afternoon as early relief that the Greek parliament passed a package of austerity measures to secure a another bailout was tempered by questions about when Greece would actually get the money.
The S&P/TSX composite index was well off early highs, climbing 9.27 points to 12,398.69.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.35 of a cent to close at 100.07 cents US.
U.S. markets were more solidly positive as the Dow Jones industrial average gained 72.81 points to 12,874.04, the Nasdaq climbed 27.51 points to 2,931.39 and the S&P 500 was up 9.13 points to 1,351.77.
Greece's fellow Eurozone members had demanded drastic cuts in civil service jobs, minimum wages and welfare to secure the €130 billion ($170 billion US) bailout package.
Without the bailout, and a related bond swap deal with private creditors, Greece will be pushed into a disorderly default on bond repayments next month. That would see cause the country's financial sector to collapse, fuelling further social unrest and destabilizing the wider European and global markets.
No bailout decision until early March
Between now and the looming Greek bond repayment on March 20, there is also the risk that some private creditors may resist the deal to swap their bonds for new ones with a lower value.
On Monday, a spokeswoman for Germany's finance ministry said the final approval of a new bailout won't be given until early March. That means the eurozone will have to split the final bailout approval from a related debt relief deal that will take several weeks to implement and which has to be finalized ahead of the March 20 bond repayment.
Marianne Kothe said that the other euro countries will first want to see how many of Greece's private creditors participate in the bond swap which designed to cut Greece's debt by €100 billion.
The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $2.24 to $100.91 US a barrel.
March copper dropped three cents to $3.84 US a pound while April gold fell 40 cents to $1,724.90 US an ounce.
European markets posted solid advances following the Greek vote with London's FTSE 100 index ending the day ahead 0.91 per cent, the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.34 per cent and Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.68 per cent.
with files from CBC News and the Associated Press
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
Latest Business Headlines
- Bankia asks Spain for €19B
- The board of directors of Spain's troubled bank, Bankia, has asked the Spanish government for €19 billion ($24.5 billion Cdn) in financial support. more »
- EI reforms aim to boost employment, Flaherty says
- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty defended his government's proposals to change employment insurance, saying the aim is to remove "disincentives to employment." more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- Ottawa moves to limit foreign investment reviews
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. The review has been used in the past to block foreign takeovers of MDA and Potash Corp. more »
Lang & O'Leary Exchange
Markets
| Index | Last Trade | Change |
|---|---|---|
| TSX COMPOSITE | 11576.47 | 10.4 |
| DOW | 12454.83 | -74.92 |
| NASDAQ | 2837.53 | -1.85 |
| SP 500 | 1317.82 | -2.86 |
| NYSE COMPOSITE | 7534.32 | -18.01 |
| AMEX | 2227.37 | 1.45 |
| TSX-VENTURE | 1309.27 | 26.8 |
The data on this site is informational only and may be delayed; it is not intended as trading or investment advice and you should not rely on it as such.
Business Features
- Accused in blast that killed Alberta mom handled her funds
- Seniors float above Montreal's Quartier Latin
- Remains found in bag on Cape Breton river ID'd
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Quebec students and province to resume talks
- Lip-dub marriage proposal an internet hit
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
