Stocks climb on hopes for Greece debt assistance

(AP) — Stocks surged Tuesday on hope that the European Union will help Greece manage its growing debt burden.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed back above 10,000 after closing below that threshold Monday for the first time in three months. European markets rose in afternoon trading.

World stock markets have been tumbling in recent weeks on concerns that debt problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain will spread to larger countries and undermine Europe's common currency, the euro. EU officials are expected to discuss those issues when they meet Thursday.

The European debt problems are the latest worry for investors, who have put a robust 10-month rally on hold. Stocks started to retreat in mid-January after China said it would try to control its economy to avoid speculative bubbles. Things got worse when President Barack Obama announced plans to curb trading by large financial institutions.

On Tuesday Greece took its latest steps to calm markets, pledging to increase retirement ages and accelerate reforms. However a strike over the government's new austerity measures is still expected to proceed on Wednesday.

In midmorning trading, the Dow rose 156.29, or 1.6 percent, to 10,064.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.95, or 1.4 percent, to 1,071.69, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 27.81, or 1.3 percent, to 2,153.86.

In corporate earnings, Coca-Cola Co. reported fourth-quarter profit that matched analysts expectations. Its revenue topped forecasts as sales rose globally. Coca-Cola shares jumped $2.02, or 3.8 percent, to $54.67.

Investors are shrugging off a steep drop in wholesale inventories. The Commerce Department said that businesses cut wholesale inventories by 0.8 percent in December. Economists expected a gain of 1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.