Stock markets are bullish over EU emergency action

Stock markets around the globe have reacted with relief to the first tangible results of the current EU summit in Brussels. With fresh hope for debt-stricken Spain and Italy, shares and the euro have gone up markedly. Signals of a breakthrough in negotiations at the EU summit in Brussels saw stock markets in a bullish mood early on Friday. The German blue-chip DAX index climbed by over 2.5 percent within the first 20 minutes after trading started in Frankfurt. It cleared the 6,300-point hurdle in early trading. Financial stocks profited the most, with Deutsche Bank shares rising by 4.5 percent. The euro also climbed by 1.5 percent against the dollar. Earlier on, stock markets in Asia had also reacted positively to the news from Brussels, with Tokyo and Hong Kong shares rising by about 1.0 percent. The Nikkei index even jumped 1.5 percent to reach 9,007 points. Short-lived rally? After marathon talks starting on Thursday, eurozone leaders had agreed to let bailout funds save banks and buy bonds in order to help debt-stricken Italy and Spain lower their borrowing costs. The summit also reached agreement on the creation of a single supervisory body for euro area lenders. The deadlock was broken in the early hours of Friday morning after some 13 hours of bartering. "Markets were a bit surprised to see something substantial coming from the EU summit," CMC Global Markets economist Tim Waterer told Reuters news agency. "But we have to see the details as to when exactly the decisions taken will be implemented in order to gauge whether Friday's initial gains will be sustainable."