* Global stocks rise after Greek rescue boosts sentiment
* Dow closes above 11,000 for 1st time in almost 19 months
* Euro gains on Greek aid agreement but caution remains
* Oil rises slips below $85 a barrel on U.S. inventories
* Bond prices up on worry of disappointing company results
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday
after the euro zone agreed on a rescue package for Greece, but
the euro and Greek borrowing costs pared initial gains when
Germany raised a red flag over how the aid might be enacted.
A broadly stronger euro pushed gold to near four-month
highs, and copper rose to a 20-month high before they both
retreated on the perception the rally in the single currency
was overdone. For details see: [] []
A spokesman for the German Finance Ministry who said
European leaders would need to activate any Greek aid -- a sign
of disagreement over how funds would be provided -- took the
edge off of enthusiasm for the weekend deal. []
U.S. stocks rose as expectations of solid first-quarter
earnings spurred buying in financial, energy and industrial
shares, driving the Dow to close above the 11,000 mark for the
first time since September 2008. The S&P 500 finished less than
4 points from breaking through the 1,200 level.
European shares ended flat as mining shares fell with the
retreat of metals' prices from earlier highs.
Earlier, the safety net for Greece pushed Asian shares to
22-month highs.
The Australian dollar briefly rose to its highest level in
five months and Greek government bond yields, which move in the
opposite direction of their price, slid across the curve on
news of the rescue package.
Euro zone ministers approved a 30 billion euro ($40.5
billion) aid package of loans, which Greece can tap if needed,
with at least 10 billion euros also expected from the
International Monetary Fund. []
The euro <EUR=> was up 0.67 percent at $1.3586, after
earlier hitting an almost one-month high, while the CBOE
Volatility Index <.VIX>, which measures the implied volatility
of the S&P 500 Index <.SPX> and is widely watched as a gauge of
investors' fear, hit a 33-month intraday low.
"The package has the size and terms the market wanted to
see and it came quicker than expected," said Jens Nordvig,
senior currency strategist at Nomura Securities in New York.
"There is still procedural uncertainty about activation and
disbursement, but the bottom line is that we now have something
concrete for the first time in this saga, and that should be
important for markets."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 8.62
points, or 0.08 percent, at 11,005.97. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 2.11 points, or 0.18 percent, at
1,196.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> rose 3.82 points,
or 0.16 percent, at 2,457.87.
"People fully expect that the earnings season is going to
be very, very good, so people are trying to get in front of
that," said Stephen Massocca, managing director of Wedbush
Morgan in San Francisco.
Shares of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc <AA.N>, a Dow
component, rose 1.3 percent as aluminum prices touched an
18-month high and ahead of its release of first-quarter
earnings after the close of the market.
The company, which typically kicks off the earnings season,
posted a narrower first-quarter loss as revenue rose and metal
prices increased, but it took $295 million in charges for
federal health care reforms and to close two smelters.
[]
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares closed flat at 1,101.44 points after rising to
1,105.08 -- its highest in more than 18 months. Banks gained on
news of the the Greek deal but mining stocks fell as the rally
in oil and metals turned negative. []
The MSCI All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> advanced
0.4 percent to an 18-month high.
U.S. stocks rose in anticipation that first-quarter results
will be solid.
U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as bond investors questioned
whether earnings would be strong enough to justify current
stock prices. Lingering concerns about how the Greece bailout
would be implemented and if it would work also lifted bonds.
[]
The euro zone's pledge to aid Athens failed to address
longer-term challenges of solvency for debt-stricken Greece,
said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment
officer of top bond fund Pacific Investment Management Co.
[]
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
10/32 in price to yield 3.84 percent.
Oil prices fell toward $84 a barrel in seesaw trade, as
high U.S. inventories outweighed early support from strong
Chinese crude imports and a weak dollar. []
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell 58 cents to settle
at $84.34 a barrel, after earlier rising to $85.71. London
Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 6 cents to settle at $84.77, moving to
a premium above U.S. crude for the first time in months.
Chinese crude imports jumped 13.8 percent from the previous
month and reached 4.95 million barrels a day, preliminary data
released by the General Administration of Customs showed.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> settled at
$1,162.20 an ounce, up 30 cents, in New York. Earlier during
the session it hit a four-month peak at $1,168.70 an ounce.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.66 percent at 80.56.
Against the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.08 percent at
93.22.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Chris
Reese and Edward McAllister in New York; Harpreet Bhal, Ian
Chua and William James in London; Editing by Leslie Adler)
