Greece Repays ECB and IMF; Investors Can Focus on Europe’s ‘Sound Fundamental Picture’

Now that Greece has made its payments to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, U.S. investors can move on.

Now that Greece has made its payments to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, U.S. investors can move on. Steve Freedman, head of investment strategy at UBS (UBS) is encouraged by Greece’s payments to its creditors and the fact that Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is finally on-board with the $94 billion bailout program. ‘Our view has remained that even from a European equity market perspective, [Greece’s debt woes] would remain contained, even in a Greek exit scenario,’ he said. ‘The ECB has the tools to prevent broader contagion and I think U.S. investors can go back to focusing on the fundamental picture which is pretty sound.’ U.S. investors are also keeping a close eye on second quarter earnings season. This week, 131 companies in the S&P 500 are slated to report financial results. Some 72 percent of the 62 companies that have reported results so far, topped their average estimates, according to FactSet. On Monday, investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) reported earnings per share of $0.79, ahead of the $0.74 analysts were looking for. Toymaker Hasbro (HAS) unveiled net income of $0.33 a share, eclipsing estimates of $0.29. Revenue fell from last year, on the heels of weak international sales due to the strengthening dollar. ‘The dollar will continue to be a bit of a drag, but from an expectations perspective, that’s something recognized by analysts.’ TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from New York.