Global Securities Tread Water as Greece Negotiates

February 8, 2012 4:27 PM EST

Global securities held earlier gains, or losses, as the world awaited the outcome Wednesday of talks between debt-choked, strife-torn Greece and benefactors demanding more tax hikes and government budget cuts in exchange for another bailout.

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The International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank stand ready to give Athens $170 billion so it can service its huge debt, but only if more austerity can be agreed upon by Greek leaders, who were meeting late into Wednesday night discussing the issue.

Meanwhile, recent central bank initiatives to inject liquidity into the global financial system continued keeping volatility low, despite geopolitical provocations like Iran's nuclear ambitions and continued killings in Syria.

Here's a look at how markets did:

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Stocks. Asian equities rose, with all major indexes sharply higher. European stock indexes were uniformly lower, though by fractional amounts. In the U.S., where stocks have reached highs not seen since May 2008, the major indexes rose: the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.75, or 0.04 percent, to 12,883.95; the Nasdaq Composite added 11.78, or 0.41 percent, to 2,915.86; and the S&P 500 climbed 2.91, or 0.22 percent, to 1,349.96.

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Bonds. Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury slipped modestly, but German bond prices declined, lifting yields, while Italian bond yields declined. British bond prices rose.

Commodities. Crude oil pared gains after rising nearly two percent. Copper climbed to a five-month high. Gold fell for the third time in the last four trading sessions. Agricultural commodities were mixed, with corn and sugar up but soybeans and lumber down.

Currencies. The euro rose to an eight-week high against the dollar, coming close to $1.33. The dollar, meanwhile, was up slightly against a basket of six major currencies. The Australian dollar retreated from its nearly six-month high. Brazil's real and Mexico's peso closed higher.

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