Thailand, Japan, Australia markets rebound two days after Greek referendum
Japanese and Australian stocks bounced back yesterday from the previous day's Greece-fuelled sell-off, but Shanghai and Hong Kong sank again as analysts warned that Beijing's measures to stanch a recent mainland rout would likely not be enough.
In Thailand, the SET Index also rebounded to close at 1,483.77, up 10.54 points from Monday, with trade value of Bt33.37 billion yesterday.
The euro eased slightly but managed to hold its own after Greece’s weekend vote against creditors’ austerity proposals, with dealers hoping contagion will be limited if a bailout deal cannot be reached.
Crude-oil prices edged up after taking a hammering on Monday on demand fears owing to the Greek crisis and China’s struggles to stabilise its stock markets.
Tokyo rose 1.31 per cent, or 264.47 points, to 20,376.59 and Sydney added 1.94 per cent, or 106.40 points, to 5,581.40, but Seoul lost 0.66 per cent, or 13.64 points, to end at 2,040.29.
Shanghai ended 1.29 per cent lower, giving up 48.79 points to 3,727.12 – although it managed to pare a drop of more than 3 per cent at the opening. Hong Kong lost 1.03 per cent, or 260.97 points, to end at 24,975.31.
Eyes are on Europe, where Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to unveil new proposals yesterday at a hastily arranged emergency euro-zone summit in Brussels.
"It is now up to the government of Alexis Tsipras to make serious, credible proposals so that this willingness to stay in the euro zone can translate into a lasting programme," said French President Francois Hollande after crisis talks in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said "the basis for a deal exists", adding that his country was "convinced that we can’t take the risk of Greece leaving the euro zone", something that would affect economies across the globe.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker backed Greece’s continued membership of the euro, telling the European Parliament in Strasbourg: "My wish is that a ‘Grexit’ should be avoided."
With the country’s economy on the brink, Greece’s government has extended an eight-day bank closure until tomorrow on fears that cash machines will run dry.
The European Central Bank, which has been keeping Greek lenders afloat, announced it would maintain a key financial lifeline, but turned the screw by raising the bar for them to access the emergency funds.
Analysts said investors were now in a wait-and-see mode.
