US: Stocks surge on Greece deal

[NEW YORK] US stocks powered higher on Monday, joining a global equity rally after Greece reached a tentative new bailout deal that would avoid the country dropping out of the eurozone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 217.27 points (1.22 per cent) to 17,977.68.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 22.98 (1.11 per cent) to 2,099.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 73.82 (1.48 per cent) at 5,071.51.

After grueling 17-hour talks, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted a series of tough reforms demanded by official creditors in exchange for new financing which will enable the country to avoid defaulting and avert a turbulent exit from the eurozone.

Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Private Bank, said Monday's march higher was a "relief rally." It is "a step closer towards keeping Greece in the union," he said.

Banking stocks jumped on the eve of earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which rose 1.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. Citigroup gained 1.8 per cent and Bank of America added 1.9 per cent.

Tech stocks surged including Apple (+1.9 per cent), Amazon (+2.7 per cent), Facebook (+2.4 per cent), Netflix (+4.0 per cent) and Priceline (+2.5 per cent).

Natural gas processing company MarkWest Energy Partners jumped 14.0 per cent on news it will be acquired by a unit of Marathon Petroleum for US$15.8 billion. Marathon rose 7.9 per cent.

Pharmaceutical company Depomed gained 1.2 per cent after enacting a "poison pill" defence to block a third party from taking a controlling stake in the company. The move follows an unsolicited bid from Horizon Pharma to buy Depomed for about US$3 billion. Horizon fell 2.7 per cent.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals surged 55.9 per cent after releasing positive preliminary clinical results for its Crisaborole dermatitis ointment. The company plans to file a new drug application in 2016.

Ascena Retail Group, which operates Dress Barn, Lane Bryant and other apparel chains, slumped 12.8 per cent after trimming its full-year earnings forecast to 57-60 cents per share from 70-75 cents per share.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.44 per cent from 2.40 per cent on Friday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.22 per cent from 3.19 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

AFP

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