Euro jumps on Greece deal, Asian shares up
HONG KONG—The euro jumped against the dollar in Asian trade Tuesday after eurozone finance ministers approved a 237-billion-euro bailout for crisis-ridden Greece, with regional shares also mostly higher.
The single currency powered up more than one US cent to $1.3291 within minutes of the announcement from Brussels, from $1.3185 immediately before.
It later eased to change hands at $1.3262 but was still up from the $1.3237 it reached in late trade Monday in London.
The euro also gained to 105.83 yen after the deal, compared with 105.36 yen in London on Monday.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced the agreement to “secure Greece’s future in the eurozone” after 13 hours of talks in Brussels between governments, the EU, the IMF and private creditors.
Under the deal, Greece’s private bondholders will write down 53.5 percent of its sovereign debt, cutting its borrowings by 107 billion euros ($142 billion) and paving the way for eurozone countries to lend Athens up to 130 billion euros.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos pronounced himself “very happy” with the agreement, while acknowledging that full delivery of the deal depends on Athens meeting a string of conditions in “a timely and effective manner.”
In total the deal will bring Greek government debt down to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, a eurozone governmental source told AFP, just a fraction above the 120-percent target set by the EU and IMF.
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said it was “a very good agreement and I welcome the commitments of the Greek government to restoring growth and stability.”
Tsunemasa Tsukada, chief manager at the currency sales department at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking in Tokyo, said: “The announcement sparked euro buying.”
The dollar also firmed to 79.81 yen from 79.59 yen. New York markets were closed Monday for a public holiday.
Asian shares staged late rallies to finish mostly up after having been in negative territory for much of the day.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.25 percent, or 53.93 points, to 21,478.72, and the Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, ended up 0.75 percent, or 17.83 points, at 2,381.43.
“Sentiment was boosted by the solution the EU reached to save Greece and positive signals from the Chinese government to ease concerns over a slowing economy,” Zhang Qi, an analyst at Haitong Securities, told AFP.
Australian shares were also higher, Sydney’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closing 0.82 percent, or 35.1 points, higher at 4,291.2.
But Tokyo bucked the trend, with the Nikkei 225 closing off 0.23 percent, or 22.07 points, at 9,463.02 despite a short-lived rally after the European announcement, as investors locked in profits after recent strong gains.
European markets were steady, with London’s FTSE 100 dipping 0.07 percent to 5,940.87 points and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 sliding 0.06 percent to 6,944.17 points in morning trade. The Paris CAC 40 added 0.08 percent to 3,475.01.
New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was $1.99 higher at $105.23, while Brent North Sea crude for April delivery shed eight cents to $119.97 in the afternoon.
“Obviously there’s a cheer in Europe over the news in Greece… but Iran is raining on their parade,” said Justin Harper, head of research at IG Markets in Singapore.
“And there’s still a long way to go for Europe and Greece, so it’s not really time to celebrate yet.”
Gold was at $1,737.10 at 1100 GMT, from $1,732.10 on Monday.
In other markets:
— Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed up 0.13 percent, or 3.88 points, to 3,025.07.
Real estate developer Capitaland gained 2.34 percent to Sg$3.06 and United Overseas Bank advanced 1.62 percent to Sg$18.25.
— Seoul closed slightly lower with the KOSPI down 0.03 percent, or 0.66 points, at 2,024.24.
— Mumbai closed up 0.76 percent, or 139.26 points, to 18,428.61.
— Kuala Lumpur’s main index closed 0.21 percent, or 3.21 points, higher at 1,563.78.
UEM Land Holdings rose 0.87 percent to 2.33 ringgit, while plantation group Sime Darby inched up 0.10 percent to 9.64.
— Manila fell 0.87 percent, or 42.90 points, to 4,900.94 on profit-taking from record highs.
Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dropped 0.35 percent to 2,816 pesos while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. fell 0.94 percent to 84.20 pesos.
— Taipei fell 33.32 points, or 0.42 percent at 7,921.5.
Hon Hai Precision lost 2.91 percent at Tw$96.8 while MediaTek was 0.65 percent lower at Tw$306.0.
— Bangkok rose 0.39 percent, or 4.47 points, to 1,140.39.
Banpu fell 1.74 percent to 676 baht, but PTT Plc added 0.85 percent to 357 baht.
— Jakarta rose 0.6 percent to 4,002.95.
Nickel producer Inco rose 4.2 percent to 3,700 rupiah, and its rival Antam jumped 3.1 percent to 1,980 rupiah, while Bank Negara increased 1.4 percent to 3,600 rupiah.
— Wellington rose 21.75 points or 0.66 percent to 3,337.32.
Fletcher Building finished up 2.15 percent at NZ$6.64, while Air New Zealand rose 1.7 percent to NZ$0.895
