Overnight Markets: US stocks gain modestly on Greek deal

Wall Street gained modestly on Thursday after Greece reached an agreement to secure a financial bail-out, but investors were cautious after weeks of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up seven points, or 0.05%, at 12,890. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up two points, or 0.15%, at 1,352. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11 points, or 0.39%, at 2,927.

Investors were concerned whether Greece would follow through on promised austerity measures keeping them hesitant to boost stocks further. Eurozone policymakers said the full package must be agreed with Greece and approved by the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank by 15 February, so legal paperwork can be completed in time.

Data showing declining jobless claims last week supported the market.

Technology shares had the biggest gain with Apple's stock hitting an all-time high after brokerage Canaccord Genuity increased its price target to $665. Shares of Apple surged 3.5%. Akamai Technologies and Visa advanced at least 3.7%, while United Technologies rallied 2.5%. But the gains in the sector was limited by Cisco Systems as the network equipment maker's forecast failed to impress investors. Shares fell 2.1%.

Networking service LinkedIn jumped 6.3% after the bell on fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations.

On the downside, PepsiCo declined 3.7% after the beverage maker forecast lower-than-expected 2012 earnings and said it would slash thousands of jobs.

Groupon plunged 14% after posting an unexpected loss in the first quarterly report since it went public. Diamond Foods tumbled 37% after the company removed its top management and said it would restate results due to improper accounting of payments to walnut growers.

Expedia was another major decliner with the online travel company falling 6.3% in extended trading after it reported lower quarterly profit, while True Religion Apparel slumped 22% following its results.

The KBW Bank Index fell 0.3% as 18 of its 24 stocks retreated.

In Asia, equities declined as European finance ministers held back bail-out money for Greece pending a parliamentary vote on an austerity plan.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.8% to 126 as of 11:01 a.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index declined 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index swung between gains of 0.4% and a loss of 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.6%.