* Emerging stocks hit highest since early Sept
* Sovereign debt spreads tighten, Romania plans bond
* Lira gains on tight monetary outlook
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Hopes of a restructuring
deal for Greek debt boosted emerging markets on Tuesday, pushing
stocks to their highest since early September, while the Turkish
lira rose on a tight monetary policy outlook.
Emerging stocks have risen over 11 percent in January after
falling more than 20 percent last year, as money-printing
exercises by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have
driven money towards higher-yielding assets.
Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said Athens might reach
an agreement by the end of the week with private creditors on a
writedown of Greek debt holdings, echoing comments from Greek
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos at a meeting of EU leaders on
Monday.
An orderly restructuring of Greece’s debt is expected to
curb the impact on other highly indebted markets.
The EU summit also agreed that the 500-billion-euro European
Stability Mechanism will come into force in July.
Continued…
