Asian stocks rise as Greece nears debt resolution

[June 30, 2011]  BANGKOK (AP) -- World markets moved higher Thursday as investors await Greece's final stamp of approval on a package of harsh austerity measures aimed at preventing the heavily indebted country from defaulting.

Oil prices hovered above $94 a barrel while the dollar sank against the euro and the yen.

European shares were higher in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.7 percent higher at 5,896.51 and Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent to 7,311.88. In Paris, the CAC-40 was up 0.4 percent at 3,938.93.

Wall Street was set for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures 0.2 percent higher at 12,239 and S&P 500 futures 0.2 percent up at 1,306.10.

Asian markets closed higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 0.2 percent to close at 9,816.09. Electronics giant Sony Corp. jumped 3 percent and Mazda Motor Corp. added 1.9 percent.

Hiroshima-based Mazda launched sales of its Demio, known as Mazda2 overseas, in Japan on Thursday, offering a version packed with Skyactiv technology. The Skyactiv Demio gets as much as 30 kilometers a liter (71 miles per gallon), according to Mazda.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,100.69 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 1.5 percent higher to 22,398.10. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.7 percent to 4,608.00.

Banking shares in Asia followed their U.S. counterparts higher. Hong Kong-listed Agricultural Bank of China, the country's biggest rural lender, rose 2.3 percent. China Construction Bank Corp. gained 1.9 percent. National Australia Bank Ltd. was 1.8 percent higher and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. climbed 2.1 percent.

Greece's approval on Wednesday of austerity measures needed to avert default next month was a decisive step for the country to get the next batch of bailout loans from international creditors and was met with relief in markets. Another bill has to be passed Thursday for the government to secure the money.

"Investors are going to the market to pick up good bargains that have surfaced over the past few days of selling," said Lee Kok Joo, head of research at Phillip Securities in Singapore.

Mainland Chinese shares rose as investors interpreted the upbeat news from overseas as cause for an improved outlook for the Chinese economy.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2 percent to 2,762.08. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.4 percent to 1,155.89. Shares in coal, steel and insurance led the gains.

"Trading volume rose today and the rally could last a few days. I am bullish on the market in the short term," said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai.

Shanxi Coal International Energy Group Co. gained 4.5 percent while China Life Insurance, China's biggest insurance company, gained 2.1 percent.

Shares in Shenzhen were buoyed by the strong performance of BYD Co., a Chinese battery and auto maker whose shares gained 41 percent in their debut in the smaller mainland market Thursday.

MidAmerican Energy, a subsidiary of billionaire investor's Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, holds a 9.9 percent stake in BYD.

On Wall Street, stocks closed higher for the third day in a row Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.6 percent to close at 12,261.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 1,307.41. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent, to 2,740.49.

Financial companies in the S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent after Bank of America Corp. reached an $8.5 billion settlement with investors over claims it sold them bad loans. The investors said Bank of America violated agreements with them by selling them low-quality mortgage-backed securities that lost value when the housing market collapsed. Much of the losses stem from BofA's 2008 purchase of the troubled lender Countrywide.

Bank stocks also got a lift from news that the Federal Reserve plans to limit the fees banks can charge retailers for swiping debit cards to 21 cents. That's higher than the 12 cents the Fed first proposed.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was 32 cents lower at $94.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $94.77 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

The euro rose to $1.4484 from $1.4428 late Wednesday. The dollar weakened to 80.40 yen from 80.91 yen.

[Associated Press; By PAMELA SAMPSON]

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