The Greek parliament has approved an austerity package that opens the door for an injection of emergency bail-out funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Pending sales of previously-owned homes in the US soared by 8.2pct in May with the index lifting to 88.8 according to the National Association of Realtors.

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The US Federal Reserve has recommended a sharp increase in the limit that banks can charge retailers when a debit card is used.

European shares posted solid gains on Wednesday following the successful vote on the austerity package in Greece. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 1.7pct with the German Dax also higher by 1.7pct and the UK FTSE was up by 1.5pct.

US sharemarkets rose on Wednesday as investors expressed relief about the successful Greek vote on the austerity package. The Vix or ´´fear gauge´´ fell another 10.4pct. The Dow Jones rose by 72pts or 0.6pct with the S&P 500 up 0.8pct and the Nasdaq rose by 11pts or 0.4pct.

US longer-term treasuries fell again on Wednesday (yields higher) as investors trimmed safe-haven positions following the successful vote in Greece. US 2yr yields fell by 2pts to 0.465ct but US 10yr yields rose by 7pts to 3.11pct.

Major currencies rose against the US dollar in European and US trade on Wednesday. The Euro was volatile after the Greek vote but managed to rise over the US session from lows near US$1.4345 to US$1.4440, before ending US trade near US$1.4430. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US105.55c to US106.85c, ending US trade near the session highs. And the Japanese yen also strengthened from 81.15 yen per US dollar to JPY80.55, before ending US trade around JPY80.80.

Benchmark crude oil prices rose again on Wednesday. Investors cheered a successful Greek vote on the austerity package, the US dollar fell and there were sharp falls in US crude oil and gasoline inventories in the past week. US Nymex crude oil rose by US$1.88 or 2.0pct to US$94.77 a barrel and London Brent crude rose by US$3.62 or 3.3pct to US$112.40 a barrel.

Base metal prices posted solid gains on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday. Investors became more hopeful on the global economy following the successful vote in Greece while the US dollar weakened. Metals generally rose 2-3pct but aluminium rose just 0.4pct. And the gold price rose in line with other commodities with Comex gold higher by US$10.20 an ounce or 0.7pct to US$1,510.40.

Ahead: In Australia, data on home prices and job vacancies is released alongside private sector credit data. In the US, weekly jobless claims data is released together with the Chicago purchasing managers index.

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