Portugal is upgraded out of junk status and its markets jump
FILE - In this May 25, 2016 file photo, tourists taking pictures are silhouetted against Lisbon's old center lit by the setting sun. Portugal's stock market is surging and its government borrowing rates are falling after the country recovered its investment-grade rating from Standard & Poor's. The Lisbon stock exchange rose more than 1 percent Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 and the 10-year bond yield dropped 0.29 percentage points — an unusually large one-day increase — to 2.49 percent, the lowest rate since late 2015. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)
LISBON — Portugal's stock market is surging and its government borrowing rates are falling after the country recovered its investment-grade rating from Standard & Poor's.
The Lisbon stock exchange rose more than 1 percent yesterday and the 10-year bond yield dropped 0.29 percentage points — an unusually large one-day increase — to 2.49 percent, the lowest rate since late 2015.
S&P said late Friday that Portugal has made "solid progress" in restoring its financial health since needing a 78 billion-euro ($93 billion) bailout in 2011 amid the eurozone crisis. It raised its rating from BB+, or junk status, to BBB-.
Fitch and Moody's, the other two main ratings agencies, still rate Portugal's debt at junk.
After a period of austerity and recession, Portugal expects the economy to grow 2.5 percent this year.
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