From Morrison Securities Pty. Ltd:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

Stocks added to gains and hit session highs in afternoon trading, buoyed by the adoption of austerity measures by Greece's Parliament. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently ahead 82 points, or 0.6%, at 12884.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1353, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 29 points, or 1%, to 2933.

Apple broke above $500 multiple times during the session and was up 1.6%. Even as Apple has risen 23% since the start of the year, the stock remains fairly cheap relative to its trailing 12-month earnings, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.3.

Nine of the S&P's 10 sectors were higher, led by industrials and financials. Bank of America led blue chips higher, rising 2.4%, followed by United Technologies, which rose 1.7%. Some uncertainty surrounding Greece remained, however, given the violent protests in Athens over the austerity measures, and as a debt-restructuring deal with its private creditors still hasn't been completed.

The economic calendar is bare, so investors will be looking ahead to data on retail sales Tuesday, industrial production Wednesday, wholesale inflation and weekly jobless claims Thursday, and retail inflation Friday.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals gained 12.6% after the biopharmaceutical company reported a fourth-quarter loss that was much less than expected. AmerisourceBergen slipped 3.1% after the pharmaceutical-services company said its chief financial officer, Michael D. DiCandilo, has left the company. The company's controller, Tim G. Guttman, will serve as interim CFO.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

Most European stock markets ended higher Monday, amid investor relief after the Greek government approved unpopular austerity measures.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.7% to finish at 263.17. Posting the biggest jump in the Stoxx 600, shares of Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC surged almost 45% after Vodafone Group PLC said it was contemplating an offer for the telecom-services provider.

Shares of Vodafone rose 1%. Markets were buoyed by optimism surrounding Greece after the debt-laden country early Monday morning in Athens ratified an austerity plan required to receive another EUR130 billion of aid. Euro-zone finance ministers are seen as likely to approve the package when they meet Wednesday.

The Athens General Index jumped 4.7% to 834.41, outperforming the rest of the European indexes. Shares of National Bank of Greece SA jumped 9%.

Away from Greece, the FTSE 100 was one of the biggest gainers among regional indexes. Helped by exposure to the rising bank, pharmaceutical and resource sectors, the index advanced 0.9% to 5,905.70. HSBC Holdings PLC and Barclays each rose 1.2%. Among resource stocks, Anglo American PLC climbed 2.6%, Antofagasta PLC added 1.9%, Rio Tinto PLC rose 2% and BP PLC increased 1.2%.

Drug makers rose across the board Monday. GlaxoSmithKline PLC rose 1.6% and AstraZeneca PLC added 1.1%. Outside of London, Stoxx 600 heavyweight Novo Nordisk AS added 2%, Novartis AG climbed 1.1% and Roche Holding AG gained 1.2%.

Also up, Bayer AG, rose 1.5%, helping lift the DAX 30 index 0.7% to 6,738.47. Paring earlier gains, the French CAC 40 index ended 0.3% higher at 3,384.55. The index was weighed down by the nation's banks.

Shares of Societe Generale SA were down 2.2%, Credit Agricole SA lost 3.6% and BNP Paribas SA closed 2.1% lower. French and Belgian market regulators Monday each said they had lifted bans on short sales of financial stocks that had been imposed in August. Helping keep the French index into positive territory, oil group Total SA gained 1.1%, while Electricite de France SA was up 2.7%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Most Asian markets gained Monday after Greek lawmakers approved austerity measures required to secure bailout funds and avert a likely default.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.6% higher at 8999.18, South Korea's Kospi added 0.6% to 2005.74, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% to 20,887.40. China's Shanghai Composite Index finished flat at 2351.85 as property stocks were sold down.

Select Asian exporters with relatively large exposure to Europe did well. In Tokyo, Mazda Motor Corp. rose 1.4% and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. added 2.1%, while Esprit Holdings Ltd. climbed 4.5% in Hong Kong.

Notable movers on the Japanese bourse included Softbank Corp., which rallied 3.5% after a Saturday Nikkei report that the mobile carrier appears to have taken the lead in the race to access the 900MHz spectrum to be allocated by the Communications Ministry.

In Hong Kong, insurers were among the leading advancers. Ping An Insurance Group Co. rose 2.2%, while AIA Group Ltd. added 1.9%. However, news that the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu reversed plans to ease home-buying restrictions hit mainland Chinese property names, as the move appeared to signal Beijing would continue efforts to cool the real-estate market.

In Hong Kong, China Resources Land Ltd. finished down 5.8%, Agile Property Holdings Ltd. plunged 6.6%, Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. dropped 6.9%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. fell 4.8%.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Monday as optimism that followed the approval of Greece's controversial austerity measures waned, pushing risk assets down from early session highs.

After climbing to a peak of $8,587.75 a metric ton during Asian trading hours, LME three-month copper slipped into negative territory to finish the PM kerb close at $8,424/ton, down 0.7% from Friday's close.

Crude-oil futures rose Monday after Greece's parliament passed sweeping austerity measures, placing it in line for another bailout.

Meanwhile, supply fears were stoked following bombings connected to Israeli embassies in New Delhi and Tbilisi, which the Israeli government blamed on Iran.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery settled $2.24 higher at $100.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier exchange operator CME Group Inc.'s electronic Globex oil-trading platform failed due to technical issues Monday, causing traders to scramble to place bets on the New York Mercantile Exchange trading floor before the market closed.

Gold futures ticked lower as investors remained skeptical about the ability of the euro zone to stave off more financial turmoil even after Greece approved a set of budget-cutting measures. The most actively traded gold contract, for April delivery, fell 40 cents to settle at $1,724.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest ending price since Feb. 6.