Asian markets up on Greek request

HONG KONG - Asian sharemarkets pushed higher yesterday after Greece requested a bailout to resolve the country's worsening debt crisis.

Major markets were up by as much as 2 per cent. The dollar weakened against the euro and rose against the yen, while oil prices traded above US$85 a barrel.

Greece asked to tap a bailout programme arranged by other European nations and the International Monetary Fund, hoping to secure more than US$50 billion ($70 billion) in loans to finance its swollen budget deficit. The country's finance minister voiced confidence Greece would receive enough aid to avoid defaulting on its debt.

Global markets have been rattled by Greece's debt troubles in recent months. But despite the increasing likelihood of a bailout, some analysts don't expect the crisis - or the resulting market volatility - to end anytime soon.

"The bulls believe Greece will be rescued. They're taking it at face value that Greece will be saved and the eurozone will stay together," said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong.

"But then tomorrow they will discover another hole and we'll go back to worrying. I think this could be a long-running soap opera."

Japan's main benchmark gained 234.38 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 11,137.42 as the yen declined against the US dollar, helping the country's car manufacturers and other export companies. Toyota was up 3.4 per cent, while Honda rose 3 per cent. Canon, which often serves as a bellwether for export stocks, added 3.5 per cent.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong's market rose 1.7 per cent to 21,606.02 and South Korea's market gained 1.1 per cent to 1755.71. Markets in Shanghai, Taiwan, India and Singapore also rose.

The gains in Asia followed rises on Wall St, where the Dow Jones industrial ended up 0.6 per cent at 11,204.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.7 per cent to 1217.28.

Stocks in the US were boosted by a positive report on new home sales. Some investors are still expecting a retreat after the recent run of gains, and Greece's debt issues remain a concern after the country opted to use a bailout programme.

The US dollar strengthened to 94.21 from 94.06, while the euro was slightly higher against the dollar, at US$1.3368 versus US$1.3345.

Oil prices edged higher in Asia, with the benchmark contract rising 16c to US$85.28 a barrel.

- AP