Markets climb on Europe deal

Markets climb on Europe deal
Global markets are rallying today after a deal among EU leaders aimed at easing the crisis in the euro zone.

"With expectations about as depressed as they possibly could be, the agreement that emerged from the euro zone leaders’ summit in the early hours of the morning was a substantial positive surprise," said Adam Cole of RBC in London.

Tokyo's Nikkei climbed 1.5 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2.2 per cent. In Europe, the focus of attention, London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 1.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent by about 7:45 a.m. ET. Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 futures also rose.

"Just when you’re about to lose all faith in Europe’s leaders, they finally make some progress," said Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Nesbitt Burns.

"Markets are rallying following the EU announcement," he added in a research note.

"The euro jumped more than 1 per cent, moving as high as $1.2628 from about $1.2450. The major currencies are up almost across the board, with only the yen trading about flat. As such, the U.S. dollar index is getting hammered, off about 1 per cent, which if sustained would be the biggest loss since November. Spanish and Italian yields are down sharply, with the latter’s 10-year off 26 basis points to 5.93 per cent ... Commodity prices are higher: WTI crude is up 3.2 per cent to $80.15, Brent crude is up 2.5 per cent to $93.65, gold is up $26 at $1579, base metals are stronger (Comex copper is up 2.4 per cent), while the grains are higher as well."

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