GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro, US stocks up on Greece aid plan

                                
 * Euro gains broadly on EU-IMF safety net for Greece
                                
 * U.S. stock indexes rise on Greece plan, consumer mood
                                
 * Treasury prices up on Friday, capping miserable week
 (Recasts lead with U.S. market open)
                                
 By Jennifer Ablan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
                                
 NEW YORK/LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - The euro rose broadly
on Friday while U.S. stocks opened higher as euro zone leaders
agreed to set up a joint financial safety net with the IMF to
help debt-ridden Greece.
                                
 In morning trading in New York, the euro <EUR=> was up 0.9
percent against the dollar at $1.3397, recovering after hitting
its weakest level since early May at $1.3268, according to
Reuters data.
                                
 Late Thursday, euro zone leaders agreed that Athens would
receive coordinated bilateral loans from other countries that
use the euro and money from the International Monetary Fund if
it faced severe difficulties. For more details please click on
[ID:nLDE62N2R1]
                                
 Greek government bonds outperformed euro zone benchmark
Bunds, narrowing the gap between their yields by 12 basis
points on the day to 309 bps. The cost of protecting against a
Greek government debt default also fell.
                                
 "The fact that there will be a mechanism in place reduces
the risk of the euro zone breaking up," said Johan Javeus,
currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm. "But going forward the
market will be focusing more on whether Greece will be able to
deliver the austerity measures it has promised."
                                
 At around 10:15 a.m. (1415 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial
average <.DJI> was up 51.24 points, or 0.47 percent, at
10,892.45, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up
6.56 points, or 0.56 percent, at 1,172.29. The Nasdaq Composite
Index <.IXIC> was up 13.19 points, or 0.55 percent, at
2,410.60.
                                
 Conversely, the dollar was down against a basket of major
trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>
down 0.51 percent at 81.703 from a previous session close of
82.120. Meanwhile, the euro advanced 0.8 percent to 124.03 yen
<EURJPY=>.
                                
 Investors have been concerned about stability in the euro
zone on the back of the ongoing Greek troubles and a downgrade
this week of Portuguese debt. There has also been renewed
market focus on debt woes in Dubai.
                                
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 For a graphic on the euro zone crisis see
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/EUROZONE_REPORT.html
                                
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 LINGERING DOUBTS
                                
 Under pressure from the Greek debt crisis, the euro has
fallen around 12 percent versus the dollar since early
December, when it was trading above $1.51.
  James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, said issues
with Dubai and Portugal this week have been a stark reminder of
the huge debt problems facing many of the world economies that
will continue to overshadow market risk appetite for months.
                                
In that regard, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3>
index of shares dipped 0.43 percent at 1,078.23 points, while
the Nikkei 225 Index <.N225> managed to advance 1.55 percent to
10,996.37.
                                
 Asian share markets advanced but European shares fell from
18-month highs with analysts saying a correction may be due as
equities become fully valued and the risk of higher interest
rates intensify.
                                
 Back in the U.S., the American consumer sentiment ended
unchanged in March from February, a survey released on Friday
showed, while the reading slightly beat
expectations.[ID:nN26147225]
                                
 After a miserable week for U.S. Treasuries following after
a deluge of new government issues, the market was up on Friday
on value-buying.
                                
 The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
1/32, with the yield at 3.88 percent, while the 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was up 1/32, with the yield at 1.06
percent.
                                
 At the longer end of the yield curve, the 30-year U.S.
Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was up 1/32, with the yield at 4.76
percent. 
                                
 In energy and commodities prices, U.S. light sweet crude
oil <CLc1> fell 10 cents, or 0.12 percent, to  $80.43 per
barrel while spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $5.75, or 0.
53 percent, to  $1096.60. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index
<.CRB> was up 0.38 points, or 0.14 percent, at 268.24.
                                
 (Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Veronica
Brown)
 (Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)