Stocks climb as European leaders try to provide reassurances about Greek debt problems

Stocks rise as Euro leaders try to calm debt fears

NEW YORK — Stocks rose early Wednesday after European leaders tried to reassure investors that Greece would receive bailout money to help it with its debt problems.

Another strong batch of earnings is also boosting stocks Wednesday. Comcast, Corning, Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical all posted better-than-expected results. Investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve Board, which is wrapping up a two-day meeting later in the day.

Markets tumbled globally in the past couple of days after Standard & Poor’s slashed its rating on Greece’s debt to junk status. Portugal’s debt rating was also cut by S&P.

German leaders said that country’s portion of a bailout for debt-burdened Greece could be approved by the end of next week. Germany, the biggest of the 16 countries that use the euro, has been slow to approve rescue measures to bail out its fellow eurozone member.

Investors are worried that Greece hasn’t been able to tap nearly $60 billion in bailout money from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. If it doesn’t get money soon, Greece could default on $11.3 billion in debt payments due on May 19.

Germany is expected to provide $11 billion of the bailout package.

The market’s gyrations in the past couple of days follow a similar pattern that has been seen periodically since January: investors get spooked by Greece’s burdening debt problems one day only to get reassurances from European leaders the next day.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 213 points Tuesday — its worst day in three months — after Greece and Portugal’s debt ratings were slashed.

There are fears that Greece’s debt problems will spread across the continent and stunt a global economic recovery.

Fears of excessive government debt could also drive up borrowing costs for many of the countries using the euro. Market rates for Greece’s two-year notes have already spiked above 20 percent. U.S. rates for two-year notes are around 1 percent.

The euro rose slightly against the dollar Wednesday, a day after plunging to its lowest level in about a year. European stock markets mostly fell, but were off their lows for the day.

In early morning trading, the Dow Jones industrials average rose 14.43, or 0.1 percent, to 11,006.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.98, or 0.3 percent, to 1,187.69, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.03, or 0.1 percent, to 2,473.50.

Earnings have provided a boost to stocks early in the day, after similarly strong results failed to impress investors on Tuesday. Cable company Comcast Corp., Corning Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. were the latest companies to top earnings expectations.

Dow Chemical was the biggest winner, rising $1.18, or 3.9 percent, to $31.25. Comcast rose 39 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $18.85. Corning jumped 30 cents to $20.41, while Northrop Grumman rose $1.18 to $68.36.

About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 153.4 million shares, compared with 170.3 million shares traded at the same time on Tuesday.

Investors will also pay close attention to the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee meeting that ends later in the day. The Fed is expected to hold a key interest rate at historic lows. The group, though, is expected to reassure the market that an economic recovery has taken hold.

The Fed isn’t expected to raise rates at this meeting, so investors will keep a close eye on the language of the committee’s statement. Traders will want to see if the Fed provides further insight into when it might raise rates, which is expected to happen later in the year as the economy continues to get stronger.

Bond prices dipped after surging higher a day earlier. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.74 percent from 3.69 percent late Tuesday.

Gold and oil both rose as investors moved back into riskier assets.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.06, or 0.7 percent, to 726.33.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.5 percent, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average tumbled 2.6 percent.