Asia Roundup: Greek deal boosts sentiment

HONG KONG: Asian shares rose yesterday, led by banks, after
eurozone leaders finally struck a bailout deal for Greece that also puts
in place steps to avoid contagion in other struggling economies.

Relief that the multi-billion-dollar agreement had been reached also
sent the euro soaring after the single currency had suffered a heavy
sell-off due to slow progress over the past few weeks.


However, a warning from the White House that deadlocked talks to hammer
out a deal to avoid a US default were still far from over continued to
pressure the dollar.

Tokyo rose 1.22 per cent, or 121.72 points, to 10,132.11 and Seoul also added 1.22 per cent, or 26.19 points, to 2,171.23.




Sydney climbed 1.03 per cent, or 46.9 points, to 4,602.9 and Shanghai closed 0.18 per cent, or 4.90 points, higher at 2,770.79.

European leaders agreed at an emergency summit on a ?109 billion
bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund -
the second for Greece - while private firms will also roll over their
bonds and extend their repayment period.

Although the package
means Greece could slip into a default, it puts in place a system to
prevent the debt crisis from spreading.

The deal "went beyond
market expectations," BNP Paribas said in a research note, calling the
agreement "a major step towards stabilising the markets and a
resolution of the debt crisis."

"A collapse of talks would
have led to turmoil in global financial markets," Monex market analyst
Toshiyki Kanayama told Dow Jones Newswires.

The news boosted
banks. In Sydney, ANZ rose 2.2 per cent while Woori Finance gained 1.4
per cent in Seoul and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 3.3 per cent in
Tokyo.

However, eyes now move to the US where lawmakers are
struggling to reach a deficit-cutting deal to raise the country's debt
ceiling in order to avoid a catastrophic default by the world's number
one economy.

In other markets:

* Taipei rose 0.55 per cent, or 48.18 points, to 8,765.32.

* Manila ended flat, edging down 1.65 points to 4,478.36.

* Jakarta rose 0.95 per cent, or 38.74 points, to 4,106.82.

* Bangkok rose 1.53 per cent, or 16.89 points, to close at 1,121.04.

* Mumbai shares rose 1.55 per cent, with the benchmark 30-share Sensex index up 286.11 points to 18,722.3. - AFP