US Markets

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Monday, snapping a three day losing streak, as the technology sector surged and financial stocks jumped on banking capital requirements that were less onerous than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 108.98 points, or 0.91%, at 12043.56, led by Microsoft and Bank of America. Among the 30 blue-chip components, 26 gained. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 11.65 points, or 0.92%, to 1280.10, as technology, consumer discretionary and financial stocks registered strong gains. All 10 of its sectors traded in positive territory. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 35.39 points, or 1.33%, to 2688.28. Tech stocks rallied broadly on the heels of Nasdaq's 1.3% drop Friday.

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Microsoft, a Dow component, jumped 90 cents, or 3.7%, to $25.20. The software giant is expected to introduce a cloud version of its Office application this week. Online speculation also swirled that Windows 8 could be released in April, months earlier than anticipated.

Monday's moves came after international regulators agreed to require the world's largest banks to hold an extra layer of financial padding. The agreement, hammered out over the weekend in the Swiss city of Basel, will force global banks that are considered too-big to fail to maintain capital cushions that are significantly thicker than other institutions. Still, investors and analysts found solace that the capital requirements don't appear to be as burdensome as originally feared.

Bank of America shares rose 33 cents, or 3.1%, to 10.85. The largest U.S. bank by assets has been pressured most by investors unsure of how it would meet a much higher capital requirement.

J.P. Morgan Chase gained 39 cents, or 1%, to 39.88. Investors are also keenly focused on Greece and the parliamentary vote on additional austerity measures expected later this week. Approval of the measures is a condition for the release of more aid from the bailout package agreed on with international lenders last year.

The European Commission confirmed Monday that it is directly involved in talks between national authorities and banks on getting private-sector involvement for a new bailout for Greece.

European Markets

Investors held back from European stocks, wary of making bold moves ahead of key votes in Greece later this week. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed fractionally higher at 264.01. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 5722.34, and France's Paris's CAC-40 gained 0.3% to 3796.55, but Germany's DAX shed 0.2% at 7107.90.

Greek lawmakers are to vote Wednesday on a five-year fiscal plan and will then be asked to vote again Thursday on implementation of a law spelling out the austerity measures in more detail. The Greek parliament must pass these austerity measures before the heavily indebted country can receive its next tranche of financial support from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, European banks and government officials met in Rome on Monday for negotiations on how to structure a voluntary participation of Greece's private sector creditors, primarily banks, in a bailout. The talks centered on a French proposal, backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, for banks to reinvest half the proceeds from maturing Greek government bonds. In German trading, shares of Commerzbank AG slumped 5%, while Deutsche Bank AG fell 1.4%.

In Paris, trading in CAC 40 components was suspended for 50 minutes because of technical problems. Trading of the remaining shares, bonds and derivatives was unaffected. Akzo Nobel skidded 6.5% in Amsterdam after the paints producer cut its full-year earnings outlook.

Northumbrian Water Group jumped 7.8% in London after Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. said it was in the preliminary stages of assessing a potential cash offer for the company. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell 1.1% in London after an update on its dapagliflozin diabetes drug. The company said patients receiving the drug alongside metformin saw greater mean reductions in baseline blood sugar levels, but there were also higher incidences of bladder and breast cancer in patients on the drug.

Swedish security technology firm Niscayah Group surged 16% after the company agreed to be bought by Stanley Black & Decker in a $1.2 billion deal. Shares in Securitas, which had bid for Niscayah in May, rose 1.8%.

Asian Markets

Most Asian markets fell Monday as caution prevailed ahead of this week's Greek parliamentary vote on austerity measures, with energy stocks slipping on weaker oil prices and some banks dropping on concern about stricter regulation.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the session with a 1% fall to 9578.31, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.6% to 22041.77, South Korea's Kospi fell 1%, Taiwan's Taiex declined 0.4% and Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 0.6%.

The world's top central bankers said after a meeting over the weekend that larger, systemically important banks should carry an extra capital buffer. Fears about the impact on the world's major lenders weighed on some banks in the region. HSBC Holdings fell 1.5% in Hong Kong and KB Financial Group shed 1.4% in Seoul.

Some Japanese banks came off their early weakness, however, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ending little changed, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 0.2%. Analysts at Deutsche Bank said that Japan's three largest banks were likely to comply with the stricter capital norms by 2019, without having to issue new capital.

A drop in crude-oil prices sent energy shares downward. Japan Petroleum Exploration lost 2.4% and Inpex lost 1% in Tokyo, while Cnooc slipped 1.3% in Hong Kong. But it was good for some regional airlines: Air China jumped 5% and China Eastern Airlines advanced 4.4% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite Index bucked the downward trend, edging up 0.4% to 2758.23.

Base Metals

Copper closed below $9,000 a metric ton after a lackluster session on the London Metal Exchange Monday, with investors treading cautiously ahead of Greece's key austerity vote later this week. LME three month copper finished the open outcry session at $8,970/ton down $70, or 0.8%, from Friday's close. That was off its low of $8,942.25/ton, however. Other metals were mixed, although the markets largely kept to recent ranges.

Three-month aluminum closed $10, or 0.4%, higher at $2,510/ton, while three-month zinc fell $1, or 0.04%, to $2,253/ton. U.S. oil futures fell slightly in thin trading Monday, as concerns about Greece's debt crisis and U.S. demand kept a lid on prices. Brent crude, however, gained ground, sending the gap between the two major contracts rising for the first time in three sessions.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled down 55 cents, or 0.6%, to $90.61, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, however, settled up 87 cents, or 0.8%, at $105.99 a barrel. Gold futures started the week with a slide below $1,500 a troy ounce as a pause in the escalation of worries about Greek debt woes curbed investor demand for a safe place to park cash.

The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, settled down $4.50, or 0.3%, at $1,496.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the contract's lowest ending price since May 19. Thinly traded June-delivery gold fell 0.3% to $1,496 an ounce.

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