Market Buzz: On the wave of European optimism

Russian stocks are likely to continue their upward trend amid hopes of an easing of the eurozone’s crisis. Higher oil prices are also likely to boost markets in Moscow.

Russian indices jumped on Friday as EU leaders agreed on a range of measures to curb the eurozone’s debt crisis. The MICEX closed 3.32% up, while the RTS rallied 5.43%. EU leaders decided to establish a single supervisor for the eurozone’s banking sector and to finally recapitalize the region’s banks. They also agreed on softer conditions for bailout applications and set up a 120 billion euro package to support growth.U.S. stocks leapt on Friday as investors were cheered by news from the EU summit. The Dow Jones rose 2.2%, while the S&P 500 added 2.5% as the Nasdaq Composite surged 3%.European stocks rallied on Friday, supported by upbeat sentiment around Europe’s banking plans and bailout agreements. The European Stoxx 600 jumped 2.7%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 surged 5.66%, as Spanish bond yields dropped sharply to 6.3%. The Italian FTSE MIB rose 6.6%, supported by banking shares.Asian markets moved upward on Monday, also supported by positive sentiment around announcements from the EU summit and subsequent gains on US trading floors. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rallied 1.16%. In China, the Shanghai Composite traded flat, after HSBC reported that Chinese manufacturing showed further signs of contraction, with the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index slipping to 48.2 in June from 48.4 in May. Hong Kong’s exchange was closed for a holiday on Monday.