STOCKS GAIN AS GREEK VOTES SEES EURO, TREASURIES SLIP ON FED BET

Stocks rose around the world and the euro slipped with Treasuries on speculation a Greek parliamentary vote in favor of creditor-imposed demands removes an obstacle to higher U.S. rates. New Zealand’s dollar slumped as weak dairy prices spurred easing bets.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.5 percent by 8:16 a.m. in London, rising a seventh straight day as the MSCI All Country World Index climbed 0.2 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index headed for its highest in three months as the euro slipped 0.2 percent and the kiwi slumped 1 percent. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points.
Greece’s parliament endorsed the fresh set of austerity measures as riot police tussled with protesters outside. The focus now shifts to how the European Central Bank will bolster the nation’s financial system. Economists predict New Zealand will join Canada and cut rates next week, with commodity-linked currencies leading losses this year. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is continuing to predict a gradual pace of tightening in 2015.

“A U.S. rate hike before the end of this year is very likely now as Yellen has repeatedly signaled such a move, which is bullish for the dollar,” said Kenix Lai, a foreign-exchange analyst at Bank of East Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. “The Greek situation will take a while to be solved, while China’s economic recovery remains weak. The Chinese government’s measures haven’t yet restored market confidence. All these are positive for the dollar.”

Greece Vote

The Stoxx 600 rose for a seventh straight day, heading for the longest streak since January. Carmakers led gains among the gauge’s 19 industry groups after sales growth accelerated to the fastest pace in 5 1/2 years.
Volkswagen AG advanced 1.9 percent, Renault SA climbed 2 percent and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG increased 1.4 percent.
The euro fell to $1.0927 after losing 0.5 percent to the greenback Wednesday. Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose to 2.38 percent. The rate dropped five basis points Wednesday in the wake of Yellen pledging yet again that the trajectory of increases will be slow.
German bunds were little changed, while the rates on notes from Portugal, Italy and Spain slipped were also steady.
After more than four hours of debate, 229 members of Greece’s 300-seat parliament approved new austerity measures that are a precondition of as much as 86 billion euros ($94 billion) in aid. Thirty two members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, opposed the bill, a sign he may have lost his majority.
The onus is now on the ECB and other euro-area governments to deploy more emergency funds that will help Greek banks gradually re-open and repair its beleaguered finances.

China Shares

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.5 percent after falling as much as 3.1 percent in the morning session. The gauge closed Wednesday about 26 percent below its June 12 high.
Better-than-estimated economic-growth data Wednesday failed to boost investor confidence in the unsettled market. A total of 673 stocks were halted on mainland exchanges, or about 23 percent of all listings.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms listed in Hong Kong rose 0.4 percent after a two-day retreat. The Hang Seng Index added 0.2 percent changed.
The Chinese stock rout may have larger implications than the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, said Paul Singer, founder of hedge fund Elliott Management, said at a conference in New York Wednesday. Fellow money managers Bill Ackman and Jeffrey Gundlach have also aired concerns over China.

source, Bloomberg