Stocks Ended Higher for Third Day

U.S. stocks on Wednesday extended their winning run to a third straight day as the Greek parliament approved austerity measures to avoid defaulting on its debt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.73 points, or 0.60%, to 12,261.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 10.74 points, or 0.83%, to 1,307.41. The Nasdaq Composite gained 11.18 points, or 0.41%, to 2,740.49.

President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that elimination of selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be included in any deficit reduction plan.

The London and Toronto stock exchanges abandoned plans for a C$3.6 billion ($3.7 billion) tie-up on Wednesday, leaving both in play in a world already facing a wave of exchange consolidation.

Oil rebounded after Greek vote, muted impact of government plan to release emergency supplies. Benchmark crude settled at $94.77 per barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

News Corp has sold social media site Myspace for about $35 million to online advertising company Specific Media. The deal, announced on Wednesday, calls for News Corp to retain a minority stake in the website that it purchased six years ago for $580 million, the companies said.

Online social game company Zynga is expected to file paperwork for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday morning.

Bank of America has agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle lawsuits brought against its Countrywide unit for sloppy mortgage underwriting during the housing boom.