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MOSCOW – European markets posted modest gains Monday morning after weekendopinion polls strengthened hopes that Greece might stick with theeuro and austerity measures. Investor sentiment remained fragile, however, with Spain's bondyields rising after the announcement of bailout plans for troubledlender Bankia. Trading volumes were also expected to remain lowwith Wall Street due to remain closed for the Memorial Day holiday. The likelihood of Greece leaving the eurozone has been growingsteadily since early May, when political parties opposed to theharsh terms of the country's financial rescue received unexpectedlyhigh support in polls. The Greek exit would extend financialturmoil in the country and spread financial difficulties to othernations using the euro. Surveys over the weekend showed that Greeks, while angry after morethan two years of austerity measures that have produced lowerpensions and higher taxes, still want Greece to keep the eurocurrency and not revert back to the drachma. The May election results were so splintered that it left thecountry without a coalition government. Another election has beenset for June 17. Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said itmade sense for investors to remain subdued this far ahead of theelection. "The response has so far been very muted because these things couldeasily wax and wane over the course of the next two weeks," saidSpooner. "One of the key drivers for investors will be trying toassess what the outcome of Greek election may be." European stocks inched up Monday Morning. Britain's FTSE 100 andFrance's CAC-40 were both 0.7 percent higher, at 5,391.82 and3,068.76 points, respectively. Germany's DAX added 0.6 percent to6,388.88. Moscow-based investment bank Troika Dialog warned in a morning notethat "given the large number of very uncertain events on investors'watch list, any rebound will be modest." Spanish markets declined Monday on bailout plans for troubledlender Bankia, sending its shares plummeting 21 percent. Spain'sIBEX 35 was lower 0.6 percent at 6,500.7 in morning trading. Yieldsfor Spain's 10-year bonds on the secondary markets hit 6.45 percentin morning — close to the key 7 percent rate beyond whichlong-term financing on the bond markets is considered unaffordable. In Ireland, Prime Minister Enda Kenny made an appeal to voters tosupport the European Union's fiscal treaty in a referendum thisweek. Ireland's current EU-International Monetary Fund loans aredue to run out by the end of next year, and only members of thetreaty can access EU funds. Ireland is the only nation among 25signatories putting the deficit-fighting treaty to a national vote.Ireland's benchmark ISE was up 0.7 percent at 3,113.34. Wall Street will be closed Monday for Memorial Day, which typicallyresults in subdued stock trading globally. Asian stock markets closed modestly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225index swung between gains and losses before settling 0.2 percenthigher at 8,593.15. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to18,800.99. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1 percent. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.2 percentto 2,361.37 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index shot up 1.4percent to 948.42. Later in the week, the U.S. government will release employment datafor May, while China will release monthly manufacturing data. Aprivate survey last week showed activity weakened further in May. Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 89 cents to $91.75 a barrelin electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thecontract rose 20 cents to settle at $90.86 in New York on Friday. In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2578 from $1.2518 late Friday inNew York. The dollar fell to 79.36 yen from 79.66 yen. --- Pamela Sampson contributed to this report from Bangkok. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Filled Ptfe Products Manufacturer , Ptfe Packing, and more. For more , please visit Ptfe Teflon Tube today!
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