ECONOMY

Greek stocks hit 2-year high after new deal

Greek stocks hit 2-year high after new deal

The main stock market in Athens has risen to a two-year high as investors breathed a sigh of relief that another Greek debt crisis has been averted.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, the Greek government won the approval of its peers in the 19-country eurozone to get 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion) of bailout cash that will allow it to meet a big summer repayment hump.

It also got commitments, but no precise details, on future help on its debt repayments, including the possibility of linking them to growth. In addition, the International Monetary Fund said it may be willing to provide some financial assistance to Greece if it thinks the debt relief measures will make the country’s overall debt mountain sustainable.

Simon Derrick, chief markets strategist at BNY Mellon, said that while the deal “might have proved the usual exercise in issue avoidance, the fact is that it’s now unlikely that a fresh crisis will emerge in Greece in July.”

The ATHEX index was up 1.7 percent at 813.41 in early afternoon trading. [AP]

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