New York, June 30 (IANS) US stocks extended gains for the third straight day Wednesday after the Greek parliament passed a five-year austerity plan, paving the way for a new round of bailout fund from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Xinhua reported.
Wednesday’s vote in the Greek parliament was the first step for the final passage of the austerity plan and will be followed by another round of voting Thursday.
As confidence is restored in the market, investors shifted more money out of safe-haven bonds and into other, higher- yielding assets such as stocks and commodities, which is believed to drive stocks higher in recent three sessions.
Meanwhile, Bank of America announced plans to set aside $14 billion to pay investors who purchased securities it assembled from mortgages.
Shares of Bank of America jumped more than three percent, the best performer among the 30 Dow components.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 72.73 points, or 0.60 percent, to 12,261.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 10.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,307.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.18 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,740.49.
