Euro, U.S. Futures Climb on Greek Deal

By Lynn Thomasson - Feb 13, 2012 7:36 AM GMT+0700

The euro, U.S. equity index futures and oil advanced after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos won parliamentary approval for austerity measures to secure funds.

The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.3236 as of 9:25 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.4 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.2 percent. Oil climbed 0.7 percent to $99.31 a barrel. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent, while the U.S. currency slid versus 13 of its 16 most-traded counterparts.

At least 151 members of Greece’s parliament voted for the austerity plan, according to a tally that is being televised live on state-run Vouli TV. Police battled rioters in Athens protesting the measures. Euro-area finance ministers had refused to approve a 130 billion-euro ($173 billion) rescue package until Greece approved the measures, such as a 22 percent reduction in the minimum wage, smaller pensions and immediate job cuts for as many as 15,000 state workers.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.5 percent. Japan’s gross domestic product shrank an annualized 2.3 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, following a revised 7 percent expansion in the previous quarter. The median forecast of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.3 percent decline.

‘Fine Tuning’

Chinese shares may be active after Premier Wen Jiabao said the nation should start “fine-tuning” economic policies as early as the first quarter, according to Xinhua News Agency. Economic conditions in January and the first quarter deserve attention, Wen told business executives last week in Beijing, the official news agency reported yesterday.

More than 50 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report results this week, data compiled by Bloomberg show, including Deere & Co. and Comcast Corp. Per-share profits have topped analyst estimates at 70 percent of the 331 companies that released results since Jan. 9, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Earnings-per-share have increased 3.9 percent for the group on 7 percent sales growth.

The S&P 500 ended last week down 0.2 percent at 1,342.64. The index is still up 6.8 percent this year, the best annual start since 1991.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net