U.S. stocks gain as Greece OKs austerity

World financial markets perked up Wednesday after lawmakers in Greece passed a $111-billion austerity measure to fend off a bankruptcy that worried Wall Street investors.

As the Greek tragedy unfolded and Athens riots played on the news here, investors in the past week have been cautious but not panicked, several local financial consultant firms said.

"They're not calling up in panic over the fact that Greece may go down," said Ed Schnepf, vice president of investment at Henley and Co. in Uniondale. "Greece is really not the word right now."

Scotty Anderson of Wantagh kept his eye on the news but was less concerned about investment profits than his life because he wants to cruise there.

"If it did have the potential that some believed, to bring down the European Union, I'd be definitely concerned," said the retired deputy police inspector. "I was happy they seemed to have resolved this potential catastrophe."

Stocks had their biggest three-day gain since March. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 10.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 1,307.41. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.73 points, or 0.60 percent, closing at 12,261.42, while the Nasdaq market went up 11.18, or 0.41 percent, to finish at 2,740.49.

Some financial brokers say some experts and the media overplayed the Greek crisis. There's been a lot to worry about, from the U.S. trade deficit to elections, the brokers said, and most investors did not believe that Greece would set off another global meltdown along the lines of Lehman Brothers' demise in 2008.

"People understood there's a process that happens, a political process in Greece and in the EU," said Mike Ryan, Manhattan-based chief investment strategist at UBS global financial services company. "They understood that the political process would take time . . . As I tell people, Greece is a multi-act play. We're in like Act 1, Scene 3."

In Melville, investors were not swamping Craig James Financial Services with questions about Greece, said company president Craig Ferrantino.

Investors are worried about home, which they see reflected in the Greek crisis, he said: "The scary part is it may presage what may happen to the U.S. market down the road, with the debt ceiling and our own federal deficit. A lot of those issues haven't been addressed."