GLOBAL MARKETS: European Stocks Trade Higher On Greek Aid

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

LONDON (Dow Jones)--European stock markets were sharply higher Monday, with market participants continuing to react positively to Greece's move to request help from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

After weeks of speculation and increasing signs of panic in financial markets over Greece's ability to bring its public debt under control, the country finally asked its partners in the euro zone and the IMF on Friday to activate a EUR45 billion support mechanism. Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou said Sunday he expects the rescue package's final terms to be ready by early May.

The Greek rescue attempts remain the main driver of global risk appetite, and for now the risk trade appears to be back on again following some signs of progress over the weekend, said Ian Williams, strategist at Altium Securities. "That follows two weeks of declines in global equity markets, despite the generally supportive news from the corporate reporting season," he added.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100426-702760.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLEHeadlinesEurope

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All European indices except Madrid are currently up.