Dow, S&P 500 Hit All-Time Records On Greek Bailout Hopes
International Business Times
Published Feb 20, 2015 02:36PM ET
Updated Feb 21, 2015 02:16AM ET
Dow, S&P 500 Hit All-Time Records On Greek Bailout Hopes
By Jessica Menton -
U.S. stocks gained in afternoon trading Friday, reversing earlier losses, with the S&P 500 Index hitting an all-time record high following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also rallied Friday, climbing above the psychologically important 18,000 threshold to trade above its previous record close of 18,053.71 set in December.
The S&P 500 stock index hit an all-time intraday high of 2,107.14 in afternoon trading Friday, breaking its previous record of 2,101.30 set on Tuesday. The S&P 500 added 7.87 points, or 0.38 percent, to trade at 2,105.42 in afternoon trading.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measures the share prices of 30 large industrial companies, gained 136.48 points, or 0.76 percent, to 18,123.90, putting the blue-chip index on track for its first record close of 2015. The Dow broke its previous intraday record of 18,103.45 set on Dec. 26.
The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite continued to hover near all-time highs, adding 22.20 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,946.53.
All three major U.S. indices gained Friday following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program, Reuters reported, citing a Greek government official. The emergency meeting comes as time is running out on Greece's current bailout program, which expires Feb. 28.
"Even if a deal is cobbled together at the latest emergency meeting, it will need to be ratified by several parliaments and possibly even subjected to a Greek referendum. In the meantime, the European Central Bank might pull the plug on the banking system," Roger Bootle and Jonathan Loynes, economists at Capital Economics, said in a research note Friday.
The European Central Bank approved a 68 billion euro ($77 billion) two-week extension on emergency liquidity for Greek banks Wednesday. Failure to reach an agreement would potentially lead to Greece leaving the 19-member eurozone.
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Written By: International Business Times
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