WALL STREET >>> Pride Salvaged As Bulls Recoup 12000

Greek Deal Deflate The Bears
Stocks resumed Wednesday's late-session selling spree right out of the gate today, as investors continued to jeer the central bank's downwardly revised economic growth estimates. Meanwhile, a surprise surge in first-time jobless claims, as well as a drop in new home sales, only stoked the bearish flames. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) was the real driving force behind the bears, after unveiling plans to tap into emergency oil reserves for just the third time in history. The move -- initiated to curb supply disruptions from Libya -- sent crude oil futures to a four-month low, and pressured the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) to an early triple-digit deficit.In a relatively rare turn of events, though, it was actually news from overseas that helped take some of the wind out of the bears' sails.

Specifically, Reuters reported that cash-strapped Greece reached an agreement with the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a five-year austerity plan. The eleventh-hour headlines sparked optimism over the fiscal fate of Greece, helping the major market indexes pare most -- or all, in one case -- of their losses by the bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,050.00) found itself down more than 200 points in early action, but trimmed its loss to just 59.7 points, or 0.5%, in the final hour of trading. What's more, the blue-chip barometer salvaged its perch atop the 12,000 level, as well as its 10-day moving average. Still, 20 of the Dow's 30 components ended in the red, led by Coca-Cola's (KO) 2.1% drop. On the flip side, Home Depot (HD) paced the nine advancing equities with a gain of about 2.1%, while DuPont (DD) split the difference by finishing flat.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,283.50) also chipped away at its deficit in the last hour of the session, settling just 3.6 points, or 0.3%, lower. Like the Dow, the SPX also managed to elbow its way back atop its 10-day trendline by the close. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,686.75) fared the best of the three, actually clawing its way into the black in late-day trading. By the time the dust settled, the tech-rich COMP tacked on 17.6 points, or 0.7%.

Crude Oil Hit February Lows
Crude futures settled at their lowest level since Feb. 18 today, after the IEA announced a plan to release 60 million barrels of oil to ease supply disruptions from war-torn Libya. The move marks just the third time in history the agency has opted to tap into emergency supplies, the most recent coming in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 

Against this backdrop, August-dated crude oil futures gave up $4.39, or 4.6%, to end at $91.02 per barrel. Earlier in the session, the front-month contract fell as low as $89.69 per barrel.

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