U.S. Stocks Moderately Higher on Hopes for Greek Bailout

U.S. stocks have opened moderately strong on Wednesday, buoyed by optimism that European officials are on the brink of stabilizing the debt crisis in the Eurozone, while shrugging off some mildly disappointing data on August durable goods orders.

As of 10:10 a.m. (New York time) the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 75.08 points, or 0.67 percent, at 11,265.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has climbed 3.28 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,178.66; while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 7.43 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,554.26.

Stock indices have shown three consecutive days of gains. Indeed, the Dow had jumped 4.3 percent over the past three sessions, following deep losses incurred last week.

Greece’s debt crisis appears to be on most investors’ minds – it is widely feared that if the country defaulted on its estimated $500-billion of debt, it would unleash a financial tsunami that would engulf all of Western Europe and spill over into the U.S.