MARKETS-ASIA Asian shares tentative as markets eye Greece

Record ID: 149019

  • Title: MARKETS-ASIA Asian shares tentative as markets eye Greece
  • Date: 30th June 2015
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JUNE 30, 2015) (REUTERS) TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE (TSE) BUILDING ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD ALARMING AT OPENING OF MARKET ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD SHOWING NIKKEI AVERAGE OPENING AT 20174.61 UP 64.66 TSE MARKET CENTER STOCK PRICES BEING UPDATED ON ELECTRONIC STOCK BOARD VARIOUS OF TSE STAFF WORKING VARIOUS OF STOCK PRICE TICKER SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 30, 2015) (REUTER
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Australia
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3T9DD7NYMFRFN9RYERTSVQ7M8
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Asian shares edged up in early Asian trading on Tuesday (June 3), as Greece lurched toward defaulting on a looming debt payment, raising the likelihood of the cash-strapped nation's exit from the euro zone.
    Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average edged higher after equities around the globe tumbled overnight, spooked by fears of Greece becoming the first country to exit the euro zone and the negative impact that could bring on the global financial system.
    The Nikkei share average added 0.2 percent to 20,109.95 at the opening of the trade.
    Australian shares were meanwhile flat after hitting the lowest levels in five months as investors waited for more news on Greece.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index was mostly unchanged, slipping 4.087 points or 0.08 percent to 5418.400 by 0200 GMT, after earlier dropping to 5,390.500, the lowest level since January.
    The benchmark fell 2.22 percent for its third day of losses on Monday.
    South Korean shares edged up and the won rose against the dollar on Tuesday morning after the initial shock of seeing Greece poised for a debt default, sweeping in the previous session, slightly faded.
    The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.2 percent at 2,064.85 points as of 0226 GMT.
    Chinese stocks were mixed as regulators tried to soothe investors' fears of a looming crash after markets plunged more than 20 percent in the last few weeks.
    The CSI300 index rose 0.4 percent to 4,207.5 points by 0138 GMT, but the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9 percent to 4,015.1.
    China CSI300 stock index futures for July rose 1.5 percent to 4,116.8, -82.48 points below the current value of the underlying index.
    The Hang Seng index added 0.3 percent, to 26,039.51 points.
    The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent, to 12,780.86.
    Greece will not pay a 1.6 billon euro loan instalment due the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday, a Greek government official told Reuters, after talks between Athens and its creditors broke down over the weekend when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a surprise referendum on the austerity plan.
    Asian investors were also nervously awaiting the reopening of China's markets after stocks plunged further on Monday, taking losses to more than 20 percent since their mid-June highs.
    Fears about the fallout of the Greek crisis have roiled global markets.
    The CBOE Volatility "fear" index, a measure of the premium traders are willing to pay for protection against a drop in the S&P 500, jumped more than 30 percent to a nearly five-month high.
    Ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut Greece's sovereign debt rating one notch further into junk levels to CCC-, saying there was a 50 percent probability it would leave the euro zone.
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