Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Dow, S&P 500 Hit All-Time Records On Greek Bailout Hopes

Published 02/20/2015, 02:36 PM
Updated 02/21/2015, 02:16 AM
© Reuters/Brendan McDermid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 100 points Friday while the S&P 500 Index hit an all-time record high following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program.

© Reuters/Brendan McDermid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 100 points Friday while the S&P 500 Index hit an all-time record high following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program.

By Jessica Menton -

© Reuters/Brendan McDermid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 100 points Friday while the S&P 500 Index hit an all-time record high following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program.

U.S. stocks gained in afternoon trading Friday, reversing earlier losses, with the S&P 500 Index hitting an all-time record high following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average also rallied Friday, climbing above the psychologically important 18,000 threshold to trade above its previous record close of 18,053.71 set in December.

The S&P 500 stock index hit an all-time intraday high of 2,107.14 in afternoon trading Friday, breaking its previous record of 2,101.30 set on Tuesday. The S&P 500 added 7.87 points, or 0.38 percent, to trade at 2,105.42 in afternoon trading.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measures the share prices of 30 large industrial companies, gained 136.48 points, or 0.76 percent, to 18,123.90, putting the blue-chip index on track for its first record close of 2015. The Dow broke its previous intraday record of 18,103.45 set on Dec. 26.

The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite continued to hover near all-time highs, adding 22.20 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,946.53.

All three major U.S. indices gained Friday following reports Greece and eurozone finance ministers agreed on a draft deal that could extend the country's bailout program, Reuters reported, citing a Greek government official. The emergency meeting comes as time is running out on Greece's current bailout program, which expires Feb. 28.

"Even if a deal is cobbled together at the latest emergency meeting, it will need to be ratified by several parliaments and possibly even subjected to a Greek referendum. In the meantime, the European Central Bank might pull the plug on the banking system," Roger Bootle and Jonathan Loynes, economists at Capital Economics, said in a research note Friday.

The European Central Bank approved a 68 billion euro ($77 billion) two-week extension on emergency liquidity for Greek banks Wednesday. Failure to reach an agreement would potentially lead to Greece leaving the 19-member eurozone.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.