Stocks Closed Higher on Greece Austerity Vote

U.S. stocks rebounded from last week’s losses to close higher Monday, after the Greek parliament’s passage of an austerity bill supported hopes the country could avoid a messy debt default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.81 points, or 0.57%, to 12,874.04. The S&P 500 gained 9.13 points, or 0.68%, to 1,351.77. The Nasdaq Composite added 27.51 points, or 0.95%, to close at 2,931.39.

Greece’s parliament voted 199 to 74 just past midnight on Monday to approve new spending cuts and other austerity measures demanded by the nation’s international lenders. The approval means Greece will likely receive a second bailout and avert a March default.

President Barack Obama on Monday sent Congress a $3.8 trillion budget request for fiscal 2013 that’s expected to be a cornerstone of his re-election campaign.

Google Inc won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Monday for its planned $12.5 billion purchase of mobile handset maker Motorola Mobility. But the European Commission said it would monitor the company and rivals’ use of patents to ensure they comply with EU antitrust rules.

Crude-oil futures rose Monday to their highest in nearly five weeks. Crude for March delivery gained $2.24, or 2.3%, to $100.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, 

French regulators said Monday they have lifted a ban on short-selling of 10 financial stocks, which had been in effect since August. The French stock market regulator AMF said in a statement that the ban came to an end Saturday.