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Australian stocks rose with their global peers Tuesday morning, celebrating the announcement of a bailout deal between Greece and its creditors, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.7% about a half hour into trade. Some of the best blue-chip gainers were in the mining space, with BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. up 3.4% each, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. jumped 4.5%, and Sandfire Resources rallied 5.5%. Among the heavily weighted financial shares, investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd. rose 2.3%, while Westpac Banking Corp. was up 1.9% after announcing the sale of some of its Pacific island operations. Shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. managed to climb 2.5%, but rival Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. was flat as reports said the airlines had cleared the backlog of stranded passengers after an ash clound near Bali, Indonesia, forced flight cancelations there.

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Japanese stocks joined the conga line of climbing markets Tuesday after the announcement of a deal between Greece and its creditors eased jitters over possible global fallout from the crisis. The Nikkei Average jammed 1.5% higher, with the Topix up 1.7%, after “risk on” sentiment sparked by the Greek news helped send the Japanese yen significantly lower (dollar buying ¥123.60 vs. ¥122.54 a day earlier). The big tech and industrial blue chips led the advance, with Hitachi Ltd. up 2.8%, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. up 3%, Sharp Corp. up 2.2%, Nissan Motor Co. up 2.7%, and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. up 2.2%. Likewise, financials followed the overnight U.S. rally to fresh gains, as Nomura Holdings Inc. added 2.7%, and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. rose 2.3%. Lagging the broader market, Sony Corp. lay flat as CNBC reported the conglomerate had priced its share offering at a 3% discount to the stock’s previous close. Nintendo Co. rose just 0.2%, following weakness Monday on news its president had died of cancer. Airlines, meanwhile, failed to get a bump from weaker crude-oil prices, with ANA Holdings Inc. down 0.3% and Japan Airlines Co. up 0.5% after a Nikkei news report said Delta Air Lines Inc. was offering to sponsor Skymark Airlines Inc.’s emergence from bankruptcy in a move that could “fuel competition in Japan’s closed market for domestic flights.”

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Japanese stocks joined the conga line of climbing markets Tuesday after the announcement of a deal between Greece and its creditors eased jitters over possible global fallout from the crisis. The Nikkei Average jammed 1.5% higher, with the Topix up 1.7%, after “risk on” sentiment sparked by the Greek news helped send the Japanese yen significantly lower (dollar buying ¥123.60 vs. ¥122.54 a day earlier). The big tech and industrial blue chips led the advance, with Hitachi Ltd. up 2.8%, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. up 3%, Sharp Corp. up 2.2%, Nissan Motor Co. up 2.7%, and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. up 2.2%. Likewise, financials followed the overnight U.S. rally to fresh gains, as Nomura Holdings Inc. added 2.7%, and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. rose 2.3%. Lagging the broader market, Sony Corp. lay flat as CNBC reported the conglomerate had priced its share offering at a 3% discount to the stock’s previous close. Nintendo Co. rose just 0.2%, following weakness Monday on news its president had died of cancer. Airlines, meanwhile, failed to get a bump from weaker crude-oil prices, with ANA Holdings Inc. down 0.3% and Japan Airlines Co. up 0.5% after a Nikkei news report said Delta Air Lines Inc. was offering to sponsor Skymark Airlines Inc.’s emergence from bankruptcy in a move that could “fuel competition in Japan’s closed market for domestic flights.”

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Iran and the major powers taking part in long-running talks over the Iranian nuclear program and the international sactions against the country are set to make a statement on the outcome of the negotiations “in a few hours,” Reuters reported early Tuesday, Vienna time. The report didn’t say whether a final deal had been reached, but a separate Associated Press account said an Iran nuclear agreement “appeared likely within hours,” according to unidentified diplomats. Reuters said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini would read the joint statement, citing the Iranian news service ISNA. A separate Reuters report cited unnamed sources as saying the negotiators had secured Iranian agreement to allow the United Nations access to all suspected nuclear sites in Iran, including military ones.

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Spirit Airlines Inc. shares declined in the extended session Monday after the discount airline said it lowered its guidance for the year. Spirit shares fell 6% to $59.70 on moderate volume. The company said about 500 flights were cancelled in June because of storms, resulting to a $20 million hit to operating income. Also, Spirit forecast lower-than-expected revenue for the rest of the year because of increased competition. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.20 a share for the second quarter, and $4.82 a share for the year.

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From:: Stock Market News

Valero Energy Corp. board of directors on Monday said they have approved an additional $2.5 billion share buyback program. The refiner has about $400 million left on a previously announced share repurchase program. The company also said it will pay on Sept. 2 its regular dividend of 40 cents a share to shareholders of record Aug. 4. Shares of Valero rose 1.7% in after-hours trading after ending the regular session up 1.6%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Navient Corp. fell after the student loan management and servicing company forecast second-quarter earnings below the Wall Street consensus and cut its outlook for the year. Shares of Navient, which had been halted after hours prior to the news, dropped 14% to $15.82 on moderate volume. The company sees core earnings of 40 cents a share for the second quarter, and $1.85 a share for the year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected 55 cents a share for the second quarter, and $2.19 a share for the year. Navient cited reduced net interest income from an increased cost of funds, and said it removed additional private loan acquisitions from its guidance.

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From:: Stock Market News

Puerto Rico’s top officials announced a plan to reform its economy while moving towards “consensual adjustment” of part of the island’s debt during a meeting with creditors at Citibank’s offices in New York on Monday. “As evidenced by examples elsewhere in the world, a contentious, drawn-out adjustment process will not be in the best interests of the Commonwealth or of its creditors,” Puerto Rico Government Development Bank chief Melba Acosta told investors. Despite recent reforms, the territory is still facing significant challenges, Acosta said – including declining investment in the island, falling housing prices, high labor costs, low labor participation rates and declining population. The meeting came after Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced that the island’s $72 billion debt is “not payable” on June 29, saying he wants to restructure debt and postpone bond payments.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing an investor flight to safety for U.S. Treasuries is pushing average fixed mortgage rates lower and helping to keep buyer activity strong toward the close of the spring homebuying season. “Yields on Treasury securities declined this week in response to investor concerns about […] …read more

From:: Finance and Economy

(TNS)–Parents who co-sign for a child’s private student loan can sometimes be released of their legal responsibility for the debt years later. But it’s not always easy to do, according to a new report. In fact, 90 percent of consumers who apply for a co-signer release are rejected, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which […] …read more

From:: Finance and Economy