Euro, global markets gain on Euro zone pact

The euro climbed and global shares jumped on Friday.

European shares hit a high for the week; the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index rose 1.6 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 2.7 per cent to 251.17 at the close of trading, capping a weekly gain of 1.9 per cent.

In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average started moving toward the biggest monthly rally since October. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9 per cent to 1,354.51 at 11:55 a.m. New York time. The Dow added 219.18 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 12,821.44, extending its monthly gain to 3.5 per cent. Trading in S&P 500 companies was up 15 per cent from the 30-day average at this time of day.

Brent crude for August delivery touched a high of $93.80 and was up $2.24 at $93.60 a barrel at 1043 GMT. US crude was up $2.29 to $79.98, pulling away from an eight-month low hit in the previous session.

Spot gold rose 1.3 per cent and hit a session high of $1,571.89 an ounce.