Asia stocks inch higher on Greek vote hopes
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets nudged higher Monday after opinion polls in Greece suggested the country might stick with austerity and stay in the euro common currency.
The likelihood of Greece leaving the euro has been growing steadily since early May, when political parties opposed to the harsh terms of the country's financial rescue received unexpectedly high support.
But surveys over the weekend showed that Greeks, while angry after more than two years of austerity measures that have seen salaries and pensions cut and new taxes imposed, still want Greece to keep the euro currency and not revert back to the drachma.
The May election results were so splintered that it left the country without a coalition government. Another election has been set for June 17.
Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said it made sense for investors to remain subdued this far ahead of the election.
"The response has so far been very muted because these things could easily wax and wane over the course of the next two weeks," said Spooner. "One of the key drivers for investors will be trying to assess what the outcome of Greek election may be."
Japan's Nikkei 225 index swung between gains and losses before settling marginally higher at 8,586.22.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent to 18,767.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent to 4,059.90 as traders scooped up bargains among resource and banking shares that were sold off recently.
South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday. Wall Street will be closed Monday for Memorial Day, which typically results in subdued stock trading globally.
Later in the week, the U.S. government will release employment data for May, while China will release monthly manufacturing data. A private survey last week showed activity weakened further in May.
Even good results might not be enough to embolden investors spooked at the possibility that austerity-weary Greece could refuse to take steps necessary to get the next installment of a loan to prevent bankruptcy. That could lead to a massive debt default, Greece's exit from the euro and financial chaos.
"The situation in Greece as it currently stands probably skews risk to the downside," CMC's Spooner said. "It's difficult to be too aggressive with the Greece situation looming. Greece does sort of override all of this."
Debt-mired Greece has been kept solvent since May 2010 through loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
A first bailout package of 110 billion euros ($138 billion) was agreed in May 2010 and a second, 130 billion euros deal was approved in March 2012.
A separate deal with private creditors earlier this year allowed Greece to write off nearly 107 billion euros of its 368 billion euro debt.
Among individual stocks, Japan's Renesas Electronics Corp. plunged 10.6 percent after weekend reports said the struggling semiconductor maker could trim up 30 percent of its workforce. But electronics giant Sharp Corp. added 5.9 percent and game maker Nintendo Co. rose 3.2 percent.
Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 74 cents to $91.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 20 cents to settle at $90.86 in New York on Friday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2593 from $1.2518 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 79.42 yen from 79.66 yen.
