U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday, after the Greek government approved a key austerity package, lifting hopes the nation will qualify for more monetary aid funds and avoid a default. In world markets, European stocks ended higher, led by the FTSE 100 in Britain rising 0.8 percent. Asian markets ended mixed, as the Shanghai Composite was unchanged and the Nikkei in Japan rose 0.6 percent. The Greek Parliament voted early Monday to approve a package of austerity reforms, marking a key step toward securing a second monetary aid fund worth $172 billion from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. In U.S. economic news, President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion budget request that raises taxes on the rich, spends new money on infrastructure and education, but does little to reform the entitlement programs that pose the biggest long-term threat to the federal budget. The budget forecasts a deficit for fiscal year 2012 that will top $1.3 trillion, before falling in 2013 to $901 billion, or 5.5 percent of gross domestic product. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and rose against the yen. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery rose $2.24 to $100.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell 4 cents to $1,724.90 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 72.81, or 0.6 percent, to 12,874.04. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.13, or 0.7 percent, to 1,351.77. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 27.51, or 1.0 percent, to 2,931.39.
