Japan’s benchmark stock index rose to its highest in more than 18 years Wednesday, buoyed by optimism that Greece is moving closer to a bailout deal with creditors, while China shares continued to gain their footing following a volatile streak.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 58.61 points, or 0.3%, to 20,868.03, its highest close since Dec. 5, 1996
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added 71.51 points, or 0.3%, to 27,404.97
Differences remain between Greece and its lenders, but progress has been made in talks on an agreement that would stop the country from defaulting and possibly leaving the euro-zone.
Japan shares have had a steady run since October. Support has come from buying by the government’s huge pension fund, a weaker Japanese yen and buying by foreigners.
The Nikkei last broke through the 20,000 level in late April.
The Japanese yen was last at ¥123.83 against the U.S. dollar strengthening from ¥123.95 late Tuesday in New York. The local currency has been range-bound in the past month, although it has weakened 3.7% this year against the U.S. dollar.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers index of startup companies rose to a new year-high following a Nikkei business daily report saying that the operator of the index, Japan Exchange Group, will allow futures index trading in mid-2016.
Dairy company China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. was down 5.8% in Hong Kong on news of a milk power recall. China’s Food and Drug Administration asked three local milk producers—Shaanxi Guanshan Dairy Co. Ltd., Xi’an Guanshan Dairy Co. Ltd. and Shengtang Industry Co. Ltd. to recall their milk powder products after finding excessive levels of chemicals in some batches.
CHINA
In China, the Shanghai benchmark built on Tuesday’s 2% gain. Analysts said capital that had been locked up to potentially subscribe for coming initial public offerings flowed back into existing shares, helping improve liquidity.
In China, the CSI 300 was up 94.03 points, or 2%, to 4,880.13
The market was recovering after a volatile session Tuesday where analysts said margin calls—when brokerages ask investors to add more money to cover loans to buy stocks—caused the benchmark to plunge nearly 5% intraday. In the event that investors don’t add more collateral and the market falls further, the brokerage can sell down investors’ existing holdings automatically.
Total margin loans—which have helped Shanghai stocks rally to seven-year highs earlier this month—were at 2.25 trillion yuan Tuesday, slightly off from a record 2.273 trillion last Thursday, according to data provider WIND Info.
In other markets
The Taiex index in Taiwan heightened 6.17 points, or 0.1%, to 9.397.31
In Korea, the Kospi index inched up 4.33 points, or 0.2%, to 2,085.53
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 11.55 points, or 0.4%, to 3,351.33
The NZX 50 eked up 3.44 points, or 0.1%, to 5,775.49
The ASX 200 Index moved up 2.49 points to 5,686.77
