Stocks rise amid Greece standoff

Greece is a relatively small economy but investors worry that if it drops out of the euro currency, that might send shock waves through markets.

By (Agencies)

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Published: Wed 11 Feb 2015, 11:11 PM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 9:52 PM

Beijing — Stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, despite losses in Asia, as investors monitor a standoff between Greece and its creditors that threatens to shake markets.

France’s CAC-40 rose 1.3 per cent to 4,708.53 and Germany’s DAX rose 1.1 per cent to 10,776.79. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.1 per cent to 6,831.49. Wall Street looked set to recover from losses Monday. Dow futures were up 0.5 per cent while S&P 500 futures added 0.6 per cent.

Greece is a relatively small economy but investors worry that if it drops out of the euro currency, that might send shock waves through markets.

After a drop on Monday, European markets seemed more hopeful on Tuesday for a deal.

“The fiscal crisis in Greece clearly poses a significant downside risk to the global economy, even if the threat of contagion has diminished somewhat since 2012,” said Andrew Kenningham of Capital Economics in a report.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.3 per cent to 17,652.68 while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5 per cent to 3,141.59.

Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.6 per cent to 1,935.86 and Sydney and Southeast Asian markets also fell. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat at 24,528.10.

Benchmark US crude was down 41 cents to $52.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.17 on Monday to close at $52.86.

Benchmark Brent crude was flat, trading 7 cents up at $58.41, recovering from a low of $57.41 earlier in the day.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,237.40 an ounce at 10.33 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery were down $4.10 an ounce at $1,237.40.

The dollar strengthened to 119.05 yen from Monday’s 118.58 yen. The euro declined to $1.1306 from $1.1330.

Sensex rebounds

Indian stocks advanced, with the benchmark gauge halting the longest losing streak in 15 months, as some investors judged the recent selloff to be excessive.

Tata Motors Ltd rose after plunging 10 per cent in the past four days. Hindalco Industries Ltd gained after quarterly profit at the company’s US unit Novelis tripled.

Tata Steel Ltd rallied for the first time in four days, while State Bank of India ended an eight-day decline.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.5 per cent to 28,355.62 at the close. The index capped its longest loss streak since November 2013 on Monday after exit polls at Delhi elections indicated a defeat for the ruling party.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss was already discounted by the markets,” Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, said.


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