* Greece emergency aid package; earnings support stocks
* Cautious confidence over Greek package, euro wavers
* US durable goods, housing data point to rebound
By Al Yoon and Claire Milhench
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Global stocks and the
euro rose on Friday as corporate profits in the United States
and Europe underscored expectations for economic growth, while
Greece's request for emergency aid gave only measured hope in
the debt-ridden nation.
Wall Street shares rose as investors weighed strong
earnings against the uncertainty of the impact of a Greek debt
rescue. A surprising jump in U.S. sales of new homes
underscored the strength of the economic rebound, supporting
stocks.
Prime Minister George Papandreou's announcement that Athens
activated the EU/IMF bailout package was largely factored in
during morning trading. For more, please see: []
Daragh Maher, deputy head of FX strategy at Credit Agricole
CIB, said it was a positive development in the short term, but
in the longer term little more than bandage.
"We aren't really much further into solving the problem,"
added Peter Chatwell, strategist at Credit Agricole CIB. "We
need to know how much Greece will get and when, so uncertainty
will continue to be a problem, hence no major (market) reaction
since the formal announcement."
With liquidity in Greek bonds practically dried up and the
yield on a two-year Greek paper <GR2YT=TWEB> soaring, market
players had predicted that the debt-ridden country had little
alternative to seeking financial aid. Two-year Greek yields,
after topping 12 percent on Thursday, declined to about 10.5
percent on Friday. The yield started the year near 4 percent.
In U.S. trading, the Dow Jones industrial average <>
gained 4.69 points, or 0.04 percent, to 11,138.98. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 0.79 point, or 0.07 percent, to
1,207.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> dropped 7.23
points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,511.84.
Indices added to gains after the U.S. Commerce Department
said sales of newly built single-family homes rebounded to the
highest level in eight months as buyers rushed into the market
to take advantage of a homebuyer tax credit.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
gained about 1 percent, rebounding from a three-week closing
low on Thursday. World stocks as measured by MSCI
<.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.3 percent.
European shares were also boosted by a much
better-than-expected German business sentiment survey from
Munich-based think tank Ifo, which climbed to 101.6 from an
upwardly revised 98.2 in March. []
Shares in Volvo <VOLVb.ST> soared over 11 percent after the
world's No. 2 truck-maker's first-quarter profit beat
expectations []. Ericsson <ERICb.ST> rose 9 percent
on strong margin growth. [].
The euro fell against the U.S. dollar for a seventh
straight session as questions persisted about how a financial
aid package for debt-stricken Greece would be implemented.
A rebound for the euro lost steam as analysts said tapping
the aid mechanism, worth 45 billion euros, was not likely to
solve Greece's longer-term problems in tackling its budget
deficit. Investors also sought clarity and details on how the
loan would be disbursed to Greece.
"The euro bounce is very limited because the activation
itself lacked details," said Amelia Bourdeau, senior currency
strategist at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut. "We don't know how
long it's going to take for parliaments in Europe to ratify the
process of giving Greece the money."
The euro <EUR=> rose 0.5 percent to 1.3362. Against the
Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> rose 0.78 percent at 94.15 from
a previous session close of 93.420, and the U.S. Dollar Index
<.DXY> increased 0.08 percent to 81.634.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell after a reports pointed to
stronger economic growth. In addition to home sales, U.S.
non-defense capital orders ex-aircraft -- a gauge of business
investment -- grew in March.
Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> rose
0.05 percentage point to 3.82 percent.
In energy and commodities trading, U.S. light sweet crude
oil <CLc1> rose 29 cents, or 0.35 percent, to $83.99 per
barrel, and spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $2.40, or 0.21
percent, to $1143.30.
(Additional reporting by Ian Chua, Simon Falush, Naomi
Tajitsu, and Brian Gorman; Editing by Dan Grebler)
