Asian stocks jumped on Friday to join a global rally after news of a second bailout for Greece and plans to prevent sovereign-debt contagion in the euro-zone sparked solid share gains in the region’s banks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average vaulted 121.72 points, or 1.2%, to 10,132.10
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leaped 457.51 points, or 2.1%, to 22,444.80.
The performance helped most of the major stock benchmarks in the region to end the week higher, with the Australian index rising 2.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index adding 2.6%. But Shanghai finished the week with a 1.8% loss, snapping a four-week rally, amid worries about an economic slowdown and high inflation.
The gains followed news on Thursday that Greece will get a new aid package worth 109 billion euros ($157 billion U.S.). European Union leaders will expand the role of the European Financial Stability Facility to allow it to lend to governments, which can then recapitalize banks, and to intervene in the secondary market to avoid contagion.
Banks were also among the top performers in Asia on Friday, with shares of index-heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC jumping 2.8% in Hong Kong to lead the charge, while Standard Chartered PLC climbed 3.2%.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. climbed 3.6% and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. added 2.3% in Tokyo, while Hana Financial Group Inc. jumped 2.8% in Seoul.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which Friday named Ian Narev as its new chief executive officer, rose 1.6%, while National Australia Bank Ltd. climbed 2.5%.
Also lending some support, U.S. banking major Morgan Stanley on Thursday posted a second-quarter loss of $558 million U.S., or 38 cents a share. That was much better than the 61-cent-a-share loss the market had been expecting, with the bank’s revenue also jumping.
BBH strategists said that the ongoing U.S. debt-ceiling stalemate remains a key factor for market risk. But the positive market reaction to the euro-zone summit, as well as better-than-expected earnings, notably from the U.S., "are likely to remain supportive of market sentiment into the next week."
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and SanDisk Corp. also posted strong earnings in the U.S., helping some Japanese technology firms, with Advantest Corp. climbing 2.7%.
Among the region’s big losers, shares of Austar United Communications Ltd. tumbled 16.2% in Sydney after the Australian competition regulator said that the firm’s acquisition by Foxtel would likely substantially lessen competition in three areas, including the supply of subscription television services.
Nymex crude-oil futures briefly topped $100 U.S. a barrel overnight after recent declines, spurring the region’s energy producers.
Cnooc Ltd. added 2.7%, recovering ground it lost in the previous two sessions on news of its $2.1 billion acquisition of OPTI Canada Inc., and PetroChina Co. rose 1.4% in Hong Kong.
Santos Ltd. advanced 0.5% in Sydney and Inpex Corp. climbed 1% in Tokyo.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index inched forward 8.85 points, or 0.3%, to 3,067.99
Korea’s Kospi Index gained 26.19 points, or 1.2%, to 2,171.23
Taiwan’s Taiex Index moved up another 48.18 points, or 0.6%, to 8,765.32
Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 44.44 points, or 1.4%, to 3,182.95
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index moved up 27.88 points, or 0.8%, to 3,449.22
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 46.90 points, or 1%, to 4,602.90
