The approval of austerity measures by Greece lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow climbing 72 points to 12,874. Nasdaq gained 27 points to 2931.

On the upside

A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote that DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) was attractively priced. 

Excel Maritime (NYSE: EXM) announced four new period charter agreements.

Shares of Gol Linhas (NYSE: GOL) rose after rival airliner TAM posted a fourth quarter profit due to higher ticket prices.

On the downside

European cloud services provider Host Europe GmbH deployed Fusion-io’s (NYSE: FIO) ioMemory technology but the stock price fell.  

Caris & Co. downgraded Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) to a Sell rating. 

Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: OSH) received consent to extend the maturity date on approximately $2.7 billion in term loans.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks surged 11 points to 824.