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Asia stocks mostly higher as initial Greek jitters ease

Posted January 24, 2015 10:00 pm

By YURI KAGEYAMA

FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2014, file photo, the statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall faces the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. Global financial markets shrugged off the election victory of an anti-austerity party in Greece, with most investors appearing to conclude on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, that it is unlikely to lead the country to fall out of the euro. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday as markets calmed from initial jitters over Greece's election result, with Tokyo shares making a significant rebound, cheered by the cheap yen.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 1.3 percent to 17,696.95 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 percent to 1,944.08. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 5,528.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent to 24,784.95. Southeast Asian markets were also mostly higher.

GREECE FACTOR: Asian markets were the first to weigh the meaning of Sunday's election victory by Greece's Syriza party, which has vowed to end painful austerity policies that are a condition of the country's EU-IMF-ECB bailout. But European and U.S. stocks rose later in the global day, as concerns of a disastrous confrontation in which, say, Greece might stop repaying its loans or the eurozone stop funding Athens, eased after both sides said they were open to negotiation.

ANALYST TAKE: "Investors are seeing that the risk factor has eased," Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Inc. in Tokyo, said of the markets' reaction to the Greek election. Players were now turning to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in the U.S. later in the week for more nuances about the timing of interest rate hikes, although major policy changes were not expected, he told NTV news.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial added 6.10 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,678.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 5.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,057.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,771.76.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 11 cents to $45.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 44 cents to close at $45.15 on Monday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, added 15 cents to $48.31. Oil has plunged since June, when it traded above $100, on high supplies and weak growth in demand.

CURRENCIES: The euro was little changed at $1.1243 from $1.1246 the previous day after trading at its lowest since 2003. The dollar was unchanged from late Monday at 118.27 yen, but that marked a rebound from recent sessions.

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People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Asian stocks and the euro were weaker Monday after Greece's anti-austerity opposition party won a big victory in national elections, renewing fears the European common currency bloc could unravel. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 43.23 points or 0.25 percent and closed at 17,468.52 for the day. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) The Associated Press

A woman waves a Greek flag during a speech by the leader of Syriza left-wing party Alexis Tsipras outside Athens University Headquarters, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. A triumphant Alexis Tsipras told Greeks that his radical left Syriza party's win in Sunday's early general election meant an end to austerity and humiliation and that the country's regular and often fraught debt inspections were a thing of the past. "Today the Greek people have made history. Hope has made history," Tsipras said in his victory speech at a conference hall in central Athens. (AP Photo/Fotis Plegas G.) The Associated Press

A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Asian stocks and the euro were weaker Monday after Greece's anti-austerity opposition party won a big victory in national elections, renewing fears the European common currency bloc could unravel. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 43.23 points or 0.25 percent and closed at 17,468.52 for the day. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) The Associated Press

A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo showing Japan's Nikkei 225 that dropped 43.23 points or 0.25 percent and closed at 17,468.52 Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Asian stocks and the euro were weaker Monday after Greece's anti-austerity opposition party won a big victory in national elections, renewing fears the European common currency bloc could unravel. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) The Associated Press

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