Asian stocks rise on Greek austerity vote; Nikkei up 0.32% |
– Asian stocks rose in early Monday trading, buoyed by the Greek parliament’s vote in favor of undergoing tough austerity measures in exchange for access to bailout funds.
During early Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.41%, Australia’s S&P/ASX200 was up 0.58%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.32%.
In Greece amid a backdrop of angry street protests, parliament voted to accept austerity measures such as pension reform and public-sector layoffs in exchange for the green light to tap EUR130 billion in assistance funding to avoid a messy default in March.
Approval sparked relief buying in Asia, as a default in Greece would have rattled European markets and exposing the entire global economy to unwanted fallout.
Japan’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% on year in the fourth quarter of 2011, more than expected, although markets chose progress in Europe as the session’s chief weather vane.
In Hong Kong, the top gainers included Espirit Holdings, up 2.80%, COSCO Pacific, up 1.65%, and Ping An, up 1.54%.
In Australia, the top gainers included Hills Industries, up 5.31%, Fortescue Metals Group, up 4.58%, and Intrepid Mines, up 3.37%.
European stock futures indicated a higher opening.
France’s CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.59%, while Germany ’s DAX 30 futures signaled a gain of 0.80%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.34%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.42% while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.47%.
On Monday in the U.K., the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ House Price Balance will hit the wire.
Australia is to publish business confidence figures.
Also Monday, Switzerland is to release official data on producer price inflation, an important gauge of consumer inflation.
