Greeks vote, EU is thrilled

 A slim victory for the main conservative party in an election in Greece should relax fears that a country will stop using the euro for the first time and possibly unleash global financial turmoil.

But when it comes to Greek politics - and European economic policy - it's never that easy. So the bumpy ride for financial markets isn't over yet.

The conservative New Democracy party, which supports a bailout agreement Greece agreed to earlier this year, appeared to win enough votes Sunday to form a ruling coalition with another pro-bailout party.

The result forestalled what financial analysts had most feared - a victory for Syriza, a leftist party that objects to the bailout terms. That could have sped Greece toward an exit from the euro and the world economy toward an unpredictable shock.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 34 points early Monday morning, suggesting the market could open higher. But analysts cautioned that any surge is likely to be brief. Asian stock markets rallied Monday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average up 1.8 percent. The euro rose to $1.2686 from $1.2637 late Friday in New York.

Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at the investment bank VTB Capital, told his clients that the election result, combined with a Federal Reserve meeting this week at which investors hope for measures to stimulate the U.S. economy, could lift stocks.

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