The Australian sharemarket is firing on all cylinders today, sparked by optimism amongst investors that Greece could be nearing a debt deal.
The European nation's debt crisis has dominated financial news headlines in recent weeks with the uncertainty surrounding the situation causing plenty of volatility in equity markets around the globe. As it stands, Greece needs fresh funds to repay the International Monetary Fund roughly US$1.8 billion by 30 June 2015 to avoid defaulting on its loans, and likely being forced to leave the Eurozone.
However, the Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices rose strongly overnight after it was revealed Greece may yet avoid that fate. Although no agreement has been made just yet, Athens has made a number of major concessions which could lead to a deal. The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) and ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) followed suit, rising 1.3% and 1.2% respectively shortly after midday.
While the gains have been widespread for the day, it is the banks doing most of the heavy lifting. In fact, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) generated the smallest gain of the majors, lifting 1.7%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) all lifted an impressive 1.9%.
Elsewhere, BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) lifted 1% and 0.8% respectively, despite a decline in the iron ore price overnight, while Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) also jumped 1.3% and 2% each.
Although the ASX has been somewhat volatile lately, investors should see the market's uncertainty as a good opportunity to buy shares trading at reasonable discounts. As an example, The Motley Fool's top analysts have recently uncovered two small-cap stocks they believe could be big winners in the long-run, and they're both trading at excellent prices today.
