Greece's creditors agreed to release €8.5 billion ($9.5 billion) in new loans for Athens, capping a key chapter in the country's bailout and ending months of uncertainty over whether it could meet large bond payments due in July.

The decision came after euro-area finance ministers sought to offer more clarity on Greece's future debt path and outline possible measures they could take to ease its burden in the future. Meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, they reinforced their commitment to extend Greece relief if needed and offered more specifics on what this could entail. But they stopped short of providing definitive steps, which they said would only come at the end of the bailout in mid-2018. The news sent the Athens Stock Exchange to a two-year high Friday.

"It's a very constructive decision that will help Greece, also on the international market, to gradually get more credibility," Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said after the meeting. "The goal is for Greece to go back to the markets in the coming months or year."