* Greece passes final austerity measures to secure funding
* US Midwest activity jumps, further boosting stocks
* Treasuries prices fall on Greece relief, end of QE2
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - World stocks rose to their highest level in month and the euro surged on Thursday as Greece approved the final austerity measures needed to secure international funding and avert imminent bankruptcy.
An unexpected jump in business activity in the U.S. Midwest helped quell fears about an economic slowdown that have weighed on equities over the past two months, pushing investors into stocks and out of safe-haven U.S. government bonds on the last day of the quarter. For details, see [ID:nN9E7HG00J].
Prices of U.S. Treasury bonds fell for a fourth straight day and as the Federal Reserve marked the end of its $600 billion bond-buying program to stimulate the economy.
Speculation that Greece would pass its austerity plans had sparked a sell-off in Treasuries and a big rally in equity markets earlier this week.
"Fear of an imminent euro collapse has been put to bed, and anyone who has been on the sidelines can come back in," said Douglas Borthwick, managing director at Faros Trading in Stamford, Connecticut.
The Greek Parliament approved detailed austerity and privatization bills required by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for emergency funding. [ID:nL6E7HU0SS]
Copper prices rose to a two-month high as the passage of
Greece's austerity plan supported investors' appetite for risky
assets, as well as positioning ahead of the end of the quarter.
Three-month copper
"There's a relief rally -- it suggests there was some uncertainty prior to the vote that maybe the implementation part would cause problems, and now that it didn't you've seen this relief rally come through," Danske Bank analyst Christin Tuxen said.
Goldman Sachs in a research note said that its "commodity team expects the recent sell-off to reverse and for many commodities to breach their recent highs over the next 12 months." Goldman said it sees Brent crude oil reaching $130 a barrel in 12 months.
In equity markets, the MSCI All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> climbed 1.3 percent in its fourth session of gains to its highest level since June 2. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top shares rose, with a provisional close up 1.1 percent at 1,110.97 points.
On Wall Street, the surprisingly strong data on U.S. Midwest factory activity bolstered sentiment as the vote in Greece meant that investors could refocus on the economy as the quarterly earnings season prepares to get under way.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 137.40 points, or 1.12 percent, to 12,398.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 12.52 points, or 0.96 percent, to 1,319.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 30.82 points, or 1.12 percent, to 2,771.31.
The CBOE volatility index<.VIX> , which is known as the VIX and is a widely used measure of fear on Wall Street, fell nearly 7 percent to its lowest level in a month.
The euro
"There has been less demand for euros lately, given all the uncertainty. But this brings some certainty back to the market -- at least for the next year -- and the euro should rally considerably," said Borthwick.
Expectations of another euro-zone rate rise next week, bolstered by comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, also supported the European single currency.
The weaker dollar earlier helped push up oil prices. But
ICE Brent crude