Slovakian deal boosts Wall Street, global markets
13 Oct 2011
The deal struck by Slovakian lawmakers to ratify more powers for the euro zone's rescue fund boosted stock markets around the globe, with the S&P 500 on Wall Street gaining for the sixth day successively on Wednesday, its largest six-day rally since March 2009.
Slovakia is the last nation in the 17-member currency zone that has to approve the revamped European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). While its parliament voted down a bill to expand guarantees, Slovakia's top political parties agreed on Wednesday and decided to approve the moves later this week.
The S&P 500 traded above 1,200 for the first time in three weeks, gaining nearly 13 per cent from the low hit earlier in the week. It closed the day with a gain of 20 points (1.68 per cent). The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 1.35 per cent (152 points), while the Nasdaq Composied rose by 1.51 per cent.
On Thursday, major markets in Asia also reported gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 in Australia gained 40.2 points (0.96 per cent), while the broader All Ordinaries index jumped by 39.6 points (0.93 per cent).
There was growing optimism in Asia that Europe would take concrete steps to tackle the debt woes in the continent and head off a systemic banking crisis. The MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4 per cent, on the back of a 1.4 per cent gain the MSCI World equity index.
The Nikkei average shot up to a four-week high on Thursday as traders were confident that European nations would now hammer out a solution to tackle Greece's debt woes. The Nikkei benchmark index gained one per cent, while the broader Topix was up by 0.7 per cent. The yen fell to a one-month low against the dollar, boosting the shares of exporters.
The sovereign debt crisis in Europe had triggered turmoil in international stock markets over the past few weeks. But reassuring statements from European leaders – including from Germany and France – have helped stabilise sentiments.
Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, has outlined a broad plant to tackle the debt crisis in Greece. Germany and France have also promised to roll out a comprehensive strategy at the EU summit on 23 October.
.webp)
