TOKYO: European stocks climbed for a fifth day after Greek creditors agreed to extend the nation’s bailout funds.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.7 percent to 385.08 at the close in London. The FTSE 100 Index surpassed a record close in intraday trading before falling as much as 0.4 percent as lower-than-projected profit at HSBC Holdings Plc dragged the stock lower. The U.K. gauge ended little changed.
“Clearly it’s disappointing,” said Kevin Lilley, who helps manage 15 billion pounds ($23 billion) as head of European equities at Old Mutual Global Investors U.K. in London, referring to HSBC’s results. “But that’s one company. Greece will still be an issue for the market for some time, but the market becomes desensitized to it. It looks like we’re not going to have the worst-case scenario. In this environment, people can focus on the underlying companies and the improvement in the underlying economy.”
The Stoxx 600 reached its highest level since October 2007 after advancing for a third week, the longest stretch since the start of December, on optimism Greece and its creditors would agree on a deal. The nation’s bailout terms were extended by four months, and Greece needs to complete by the end of the day a list of policies in return for the continued funding. Finance chiefs will then decide whether the proposals go far enough or trigger another round of emergency negotiations this week.
The nation’s ASE Index slipped 4.5 percent last week. The Greek market was closed on Monday for a holiday. Ireland’s ISEQ Index, the Dutch AEX Index and the OMX Copenhagen 20 Index climbed the most among 18 western-European markets on Monday.
