US Stocks Open Higher as Europe Acts on Spain
Specialists Frank Masello, left, and John T. O’Hara, right, work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Source:AP Photo/David Karp)
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks are opening higher after European leaders accelerated a plan to shore up Spain’s troubled banks.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 77 points to 12,814 shortly after the start of trading Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 8 points to 1,360. The Nasdaq rose 18 points to 2,950.
European finance ministers agreed early Tuesday on the terms of a bailout for Spain, saying that the first $37 billion in aid can be ready by the end of the month. Unemployment in Spain is nearing 25 percent.
Spain’s benchmark borrowing rate fell and its stock market surged following the news. Spain is the largest European country to date to seek international assistance.
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