Summary Greece and its European creditors said they were willing to compromise to help Athens with its debts
TOKYO: (AP) - Global stocks rose Friday after Greece and its European creditors said they were willing to compromise to help Athens with its debts, while fresh data showed improvement in the eurozone s economy.
KEEPING SCORE: Germany s DAX added 0.5 percent to 10,969.38 after touching a record high, while France s CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent to 4,751.22. Britain s FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent to 6,862.82. U.S. shares were set to rise with Dow futures gaining 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures up 0.1 percent.
GREECE FACTOR: Greece and its creditors in the 19-country eurozone took visible, if modest, steps to bridge their differences over Athens demands to lighten the load of its bailout. But a deal is still some way off. Following weeks of haggling, the two sides sounded willing to compromise and agreed to start technical discussions to analyze each side s requests ahead of another meeting Monday. Investors are hopeful that a deal will be reached to avoid Greece s exit from the euro.
EUROZONE GROWTH: Data out Friday showed the eurozone economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter thanks to better growth in Germany and Spain. The currency union s economy grew 0.3 percent in the October-December period compared with the previous quarter more than expected thanks also to lower oil prices and a weaker euro. The growth rate, while encouraging, is still only about half that of the U.S.
THE QUOTE: "The global market rally seems to be back on, aided by some optimism on the European front," IG strategist Stan Shamu said in a market commentary. "It seems markets are starting to price in a positive/perfect outcome from the Greece negotiations," he said. "While everything is looking very positive now, this could all change very swiftly come Monday when leaders reconvene."
ASIA S DAY: Hong Kong s Hang Seng jumped 1.1 percent to 24,682.54 and South Korea s Kospi rose 0.8 percent to 1,957.50. China s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.0 percent to 3,203.83. Australia s S&P/ASX 200 surged 2.3 percent to 5,877.50 on expectations the central bank will lower interest rates again. Japan s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 17,913.36 as the dollar weakened a little against the yen.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 62 cents to $51.83 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract soared $2.37 on Thursday after the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell said he expected crude demand to grow faster than supply this year.
CURRENCIES: The dollar, after hitting 120 yen levels recently, has been falling, trading at 119.10 yen Friday from 118.85 yen the previous session. The euro edged down to $1.1398 from $1.1404.
