Stocks jump on European optimism
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Stock markets rose for the third straight day as investors grew hopeful that European leaders were preparing to tackle the continent’s economic problems.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose over 250 points, trading up 252.56 points, or 2.3%, to 11296.42 at 9:50 a.m. EDT.
U.S. markets followed leading European indexes, which rose 4.6% in Germany and 4.5% in France, helping to wipe out some of the losses sustained last week during the worse one-week run for stocks since 2008.
Nearly all assets received a lift, including oil, gold and copper, all of which have suffered in recent weeks.
Investors took heart from the Greek government’s promises -- at the beginning of meetings in Germany -- that it will take measures to tighten its own budget, making it easier for other European countries to provide aid.
Over the weekend, European finance officials met in Washington and suggested they will take the necessary steps to help the weaker members of the European Union avoid defaulting on their bonds.
Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive of PIMCO, told Bloomberg Tuesday morning that European leaders ‘recognize they have deep problems and they recognize they need to do something about it.’
In the United States, some of the gloom surrounding a recent congressional budge impasse lifted after the Senate approved a deal to avoid a government shutdown.
Separately, a report showed that U.S. housing prices rose in July from a month earlier, and fell less than expected on a year-to-year basis.
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