MARKETS-ASIA/CLOSE Asian stocks drop on Greek crisis fears

Record ID: 148254

  • Title: MARKETS-ASIA/CLOSE Asian stocks drop on Greek crisis fears
  • Date: 6th July 2015
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (JULY 6, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE HONG KONG STOCK EXCHANGE LOGO AND SIGN READING (English) "EXCHANGE EXHIBITION HALL" MARKET TRADING FLOOR / MARKET CLOSING BELL ELECTRONIC BOARD SHOWING HANG SENG INDEX AT 25236.28 (-827.83, 3.17%) AT 1600 LOCAL TIME (0800 GMT) VARIOUS OF STOCK BROKER WORKING VARIOUS OF JOURNALIST FILMING JOURNAL
  • Embargoed: 21st July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8IF9P402Q9LZ0OVUSPO4I3NDL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Shares in Asia tumbled at closing on Monday (July 6) as investors worried that the Greek debt crisis could deepen.
    Hong Kong's benchmark index closed at a three-month low after the biggest one-day fall in three years.
    The Hang Seng index fell 3.2 percent, its largest drop since May 16, 2012, to 25,236.28.
    Hong Kong tracked global and regional markets, nearly all of which saw heavy selling after Greeks voted to reject conditions of a rescue package.
    South Korean shares on Monday also posted their sharpest daily losses in more than three years.
    The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,053.93 points, down 2.4 percent, the largest daily percentage loss since June 4, 2012. Losing shares outnumbered winners 671 to 164.
    Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading a net 287.5 billion won ($255.19 million) worth of the KOSPI shares, preliminary data showed.
    The won ended local trade down 0.3 percent at 1,126.5 against the dollar, after falling as low as 1,128.6, the lowest since March 18.
    Japan's Nikkei fell 2.1 percent to 20,112.12, with banks and financial shares sold heavily on the spectre of falls in bond yields and on concerns about their potential exposure to Europe.
    The broader Topix fell as low as 1,614.80, its lowest level since late May and ended down 1.9 percent at 1,620.36.
    The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 1.9 percent to 14,645.08.
    A Greek vote to reject austerity measures raised fears that Greece could be forced to leave the euro, putting more strains on the European economy and currency union.
    In contrast, Chinese stocks rose on Monday, as an unprecedented series of support measures unleashed by Beijing brought some relief to a market whose headlong slide over the past three weeks had raised fears about the stability of the world's second-biggest economy.
    In an extraordinary weekend of policy moves, brokerages and fund managers vowed to buy massive amounts of stocks, helped by China's state-backed margin finance company, which in turn would be aided by a direct line of liquidity from the central bank.
    The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed up 2.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.4 percent.
    That represented a significant pullback, however, from the initial burst of euphoria that had seen both indexes rocket around 8 percent when trading began, raising questions about whether the rebound can be sustained.
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