Australia: Stocks rally 1.70% on Greek deal

[SYDNEY] Australian stocks rallied 1.70 per cent at the open on Tuesday on the back of the long-awaited Greek bailout agreement.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 93.1 points at 5,566.3 soon after the start following Greece agreeing to tough reforms in return for a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros (S$128.6 billion).

The subsequent boost to European and US markets gave the ASX "one of the most positive intra-day leads in weeks", IG Markets said in a note, adding that the focus was also turning to the US reporting season.

"US earning season sees major banks reporting from tonight through to Friday. This will drive US trade and therefore the leads will filter into Asia and Australia," it said.

In early trade the Australian dollar was at 73.93 US cents from 74.54 US cents late Monday after the greenback strengthened on the Greek bailout news.

The Australian dollar was buying 67.31 euro cents, from 67.66 euro cents late Monday.

AFP