Greece leads markets higher amid EU rescue hopes

By CARLO PIOVANO

posted: 46 MINUTES AGO

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LONDON -Greek shares led European markets higher Wednesday as hope grew that EU leaders would agree on a fiscal support plan for the heavily indebted country.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.7 percent at 5,149.64, while Germany's DAX rose 1.0 percent to 5,552.46. The CAC-40 in France was 1.0 percent higher at 3,648.24.

Greek shares led the advance in Europe, with the main composite index up 2.3 percent. Stock markets in Spain and Portugal — two countries with similar problems — also were up strongly.

Asian indexes mostly closed higher, while Wall Street was steady on the open. The Dow Jones industrial average was roughly flat at 10,056.67, while the Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.1 percent to 1,069.74.

The more optimistic tone in markets this week has largely arisen from news that European Union governments are negotiating how to help Greece handle its debt load and avoid a disastrous default.

Analysts say EU nations could offer loan guarantees or financial assistance from countries that want to help, and that Germany and France could play a leading role.

But officials said no final decisions have been made and that talks in the next 24 hours would be crucial.

The hope is that a meeting on Thursday of European Union leaders in Brussels will agree to some sort of financial support for Greece, which has been struggling to reassure markets that it can get a grip on its massive borrowings amid a nationwide strike.

EU leaders will be joined by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and the debate is likely to center on how to ring-fence the problems in Greece so they don't start to undermine other countries as well as the euro currency.

"If, and it remains a reasonable 'if,' this happens tomorrow, the commitment will have to be strong enough to placate markets while retaining a pretense that this is not tantamount to a bailout," said Daragh Maher, an analyst at Calyon Credit Agricole.

"In the end, the EU either directly or through a promise of conditional support may well end up being Greece's savior, but many will wonder if this will leave this knight in shining armor looking a little tarnished," he added.

Crucial to any deal is the position of Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, and the signs are that there's a growing acceptance within Chancellor Angela Merkel's government that Germany will have to help stave off this crisis before it spreads.

Hopes for a rescue deal also have given Greek bond prices some support. On Tuesday the spread between Greek and German 10-year yields dropped — a clear sign that investors think a default is less likely.

"The respite provided by the temporarily improving conditions in the bond markets gave some much needed impetus for equities, which in recent sessions have wanted to give up the ghost," said David Buik, markets analyst at BGC Partners.

The euro was down slightly at $1.3736 from about $1.3790 earlier in the day.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.3 percent higher at 9,963.99, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.6 percent to 19,922.22.

Australia's benchmark gained 0.2 percent to 4,513.40, while China's Shanghai index advanced 1.1 percent to 2,982.50, helped by strong trade figures for January — indicating a recovery in both global demand and Chinese consumption is on track.

"We can see China's trade has entered a stable stage," said Shanghai Securities economist Hu Xiaoyue. "Unless there's another round of the financial crisis, China's export recovery is well on track and won't see a double dip."

Markets in India, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia also gained.

Only South Korea bucked the regional trend with the Kospi index slipping 0.37 of a point, less than 0.1 percent, to 1,570.12.

Oil prices fell modestly with benchmark crude for March delivery down 1 cent at $73.74 a barrel after U.S. crude supplies rose last week.

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AP Business Writer Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.

2010-02-10 10:28:35