Wall Street higher after Greece vote, BofA gains

US stocks were higher on Wednesday after Greece's parliament passed an unpopular austerity plan key to avoiding a debt default.

The parliament approved a five-year package of spending cuts, tax rises and state asset sales by a comfortable margin, handing a big victory to the embattled prime minister.

Anticipation of the bill's passage sparked a two-session rally, with the S&P up more than 2% this week, but equities were off their earlier highs.

"It's positive for the markets... one of the biggest policy issues this summer coming to a conclusion," said John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati. "As with most big market moving events, it's 'buy on the rumor, sell on the news.'"

The Dow Jones industrial average added 29.48 points, or 0.24% , at 12,218.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.69 points, or 0.36%, at 1,301.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index put on 0.81 points, or 0.03%, at 2,730.12.

Bank of America Corp expects to take more than USD 20 billion in charges after settling with mortgage bond investors, resulting in a second-quarter loss. The USD 8.5 billion settlement removed a question mark hanging over the bank since October. Shares of the Dow component rose 2.6% to USD 11.10.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc rose 4.8% to USD 50.40 after agreeing to be bought by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and another group in a deal valued at about USD 2.8 billion.

Monsanto Co rose 4.2% to USD 69.74 after its third-quarter earnings topped expectations, but General Mills Inc was down 1.6% to USD 36.62 after it gave a weak outlook.