Stocks Rise on Eurozone Debt Agreement

(Newsroom America) -- A Eurozone deal to bail out Greece led markets to rise sharply Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing above the psychologically important 12,000 level.

In addition to the European agreement, a smattering of other data showing some improvement in economic performance and earnings for firms helped boost market levels, reports said.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also were up sharply. All S&P sectors were up by the opening, led by materials and financials, CNBC reported.

Eurozone leaders reached an agreement with private banks and insurers Thursday to accept a 50 percent loss on holdings of Greek bonds, in order to reduce that country's long-term debt burden while trying to rein in the continent's overall debt crisis.

The package deal is valued at about €130bn, more than the €109bn agreement struck last July.

European and Asian markets also rebounded on news of the agreement.

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