By msnbc.com news services
U.S. stocks edged higher Monday after equities posted their best week in a month as the euro zone debt crisis and the U.S. economy showed signs of stabilizing.
Euro zone finance ministers will decide Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept for a second bailout package after private creditors said they could not improve their offer to potentially take a real loss of 65 percent to 70 percent on their Greek bonds.
U.S. stocks are up nearly 5 percent this year after a four-day rally last year, with investors particularly emboldened by a turnaround in U.S. banking stocks that have helped lead the rally after an abysmal 2011.
A solid showing in fourth-quarter earnings during the current reporting season has also put a floor in the market.
"If earnings come in decently I don't see any type of a big plunge," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. But he added: "I'm still concerned about when we get towards the end of earnings season."
"[The market] has had a positive tone since the year began. The turn in the financial stocks has provided a good underpinning for the market," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
"What you're really starting to see is a decrease in volatility and a market where individual stock earnings are staring to become more important and the correlation is starting to decrease for all stocks."
Halliburton Co, the world's second-largest oilfield services company, posted quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates, helped by improved activity in North America. The stock, which has rallied 18 percent since late December, fell.
Research In Motion Ltd's co-chief executives bowed to investor pressure and resigned over the weekend, handing the top job to an insider with four years at the struggling BlackBerry maker.
The fourth-quarter earnings season has not been as good as previous ones. Of about 70 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 60 percent exceeded estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Chesapeake Energy Corp will reduce dry gas drilling and cut production in response to natural gas prices falling below "economically unattractive levels."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216250-stocks-edge-higher-on-euro-optimism
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