The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) rose today, briefly breaking the 13,000 level, after the announcement of a bailout of Greece.
|
Index |
Change |
Ending Value |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | +15.82 [0.12%] | 12,965.69 |
| S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) | +0.98 [0.07%] | 1,362.21 |
Today's big news is that a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout deal for Greece has finally been reached after weeks of negotiations. A bailout was needed so Greece could avoid defaulting on 14 billion euros in bonds due in March.
Before the deal. Greece had 330 billion euros in aggregate debt. The deal is expected to cut Greece's debt by 107 billion euros and leave the country with a high 120% debt-to-GDP ratio by 2020. That is far below what it would be without the bailout and lower than the 129% goal previously discussed. The target was lowered as private debt holders agreed to take a 53.5% writedown, above the previously discussed 50%. Investors had been worried that if conditions in Greece and the rest of Europe continued to worsen, the U.S. would also experience a slowdown in growth. This deal should lessen some of those concerns for the time being.
Top stock
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was today's top stock, rising 2.56% to $10.41. Roughly 20% of Alcoa's revenue comes from Europe, and the potential of a European slowdown has weighed on the stock the past year. Alcoa was the second worst-performing Dow component last year, behind only Bank of America. There are some things to like about Alcoa, however, and Fool analyst Sean Williams thinks Alcoa will outperform the market over the next few years.
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