Greek lawmakers passed a controversial austerity bill that was needed to get emergency loans.
NEW YORK – Progress on Greece’s debt crisis and a huge bank settlement are sending stocks higher shortly after the opening bell.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 31 points, or 0.3 percent, at 12,219 in early trading Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 5, or 0.4 percent, at 1,301.
A riot police officer throws a stone at protesters during clashes in central Athens Wednesday,. Greek deputies voted to approve Wednesday an unpopular austerity bill that has provoked days of rioting in the streets of Athens, with the result of the vote determining is Greece can avoid a potentially disastrous financial default in the coming weeks .The Nasdaq composite was up less than 1 point at 2,729.
Greek lawmakers passed a controversial austerity bill that was needed to get emergency loans. The passage puts Greece closer to avoiding a debt default, which would have shocked global markets and frozen lending to other heavily indebted European countries.
Bank of America Corp. rose 3 percent after reaching an $8.5 billion settlement with investors over claims that the bank sold them low-quality mortgage-backed securities.
More details coming on MassLive and in The Republican.