Stocks rise on hope for Greek austerity moves

By Francesca Levy, Associated Press
Updated 37m ago |

NEW YORK — Progress in negotiations that could help Greece avoid default, strong earnings from Nike Inc. and a rise in home prices sent stocks higher Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 111 points, or 0.9%, to 12,154 in midday trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12, or 1%, to 1,292. The Nasdaq composite rose 31, or 1.1%, to 2,719.

Greek lawmakers are debating austerity measures that must be passed to secure the next installment of emergency loans from international lenders. On Monday, French banks agreed to accept slower repayment on Greek debts, another key step in avoiding a Greek debt default.

Stock trend

Dow Jones industrial average, five trading days
All but seven of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow rose. Caterpillar gained the most, 2.7%, to $103.50.

Nike Inc. (NKE) rose 7% after the sneaker maker reported that its earnings jumped 14%, beating analyst expectations.

In the U.S., home prices rose in April in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. The index rose for the first time in eight months thanks to an annual push to buy homes in the spring. The long slump in the housing market has been one of the worst drags on the U.S. economic recovery. Housing usually leads the economy out of recessions, but that hasn't been the case with the recovery that began in the middle of 2009.

Tobacco company Altria Group (MO) fell 3% after the Food and Drug Administration announced it is reviewing research to determine the public health impact of menthol cigarettes.

A decline in U.S. consumer confidence to a seven-month low, largely because of worries about jobs, did not slow down the gains in stocks.

Indexes also rose Monday after a three-day slide brought on by heightened worries that Greece would default on its debt. If Greece were to default, investors fear it could lead to a wider credit crisis. Several other European countries, such as Portugal, Ireland and Spain also have heavy debt loads.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2 ... sday_n.htm