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Hong Kong - Global stock markets pushed higher on Monday after Greece requested a bailout to resolve the country's worsening debt crisis.
European shares gained in early trade after major markets in Asia closed in the green. The dollar weakened against the yen and strengthened against the euro, while oil prices traded above $85 a barrel.
Greece on Friday formally asked to tap a bailout programme arranged by other European nations and the International Monetary Fund, hoping to secure more than $50bn in loans to finance its swollen budget deficit. On Sunday, 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."
Early in Europe, major benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France rose about 1% each. Wall Street futures pointed to stronger open in US markets on Monday.
In Asia, Japan's main benchmark gained 251.33 points, to 11,165.79 after the yen declined against the dollar earlier in the session, helping the country's car manufacturers and other export companies. Toyota and Honda advanced about 3%. Electronics maker Canon, often seen as a bellwether for export stocks, added 3.5% after first-quarter profit more than tripled.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's market rose 1.6% to 21,587.06 and South Korea's market gained 0.9% to 1,752.20.
Markets in Taiwan, India and Singapore also rose. In China, Shanghai's main stock measure lost 0.5%.
The gains followed rises on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.6% at 11,204.28. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.7% to 1,217.28.
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.
In currencies, the dollar was off at ¥94.03 from ¥94.06 after climbing earlier in the day. The euro also reversed course, slipping to $1.3332 versus $1.3345.
Oil prices edged higher in Asia, with the benchmark contract rising 5c to $85.17 a barrel.
- AP
