Most Asian stocks rallied Monday on hopes Greece will remain in the euro-zone after weekend election results showing a narrow win for a pro-bailout party, although analysts cautioned the advance may be short-lived.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index vaulted 151.70 points to end Monday at 8,721.02
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 193.87 points, or 1%, to 19,427.81
The broad regional gains came as early results from the weekend parliamentary elections in Greece projected the New Democracy party would win and form a coalition government that is expected to honor the country’s commitments when it received a financial bailout.
The lead-up to the Greek poll and worries about the future of the euro zone had created waves of anxiety across global markets in recent weeks.
The result represented a slim victory over the anti-austerity Syriza party, which had vowed to tear up the terms of Greece’s bailout.
BNP Paribas strategists said that while the near-term prospect of a Greek exit from the monetary union had diminished, "uncertainty is likely to remain high once the new government is sworn in."
Sony Corp. jumped 4.2%, Mazda Motor Corp. spiked 6% and Nomura Holdings Inc. rose 2.6% in Tokyo; in Sydney, investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd. put on 2.6% and mining giants BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. gained 2.5% and 4.6%, respectively.
Hyundai Motor Co. rose 3.5% and Samsung Securities Co. climbed 2.4% in Seoul; in Hong Kong, energy producer Cnooc Ltd. gained 2.1% and Standard Chartered PLC added 2.3%.
Among other movers, bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. slumped 4.5% after it announced Friday the acquisition of London Metal Exchange, with some analysts concerned over the deal’s price tag of $2.2 billion U.S.
Shares of Lynas Corp. surged 6.3% after the Australian rare-earths miner said it is able to meet new conditions imposed on a temporary licence it’s seeking to operate a refinery in Malaysia.
Shares of Fairfax Media Ltd. soared 7.4%, after the firm said it would cut 1,900 jobs over the next three years and shift its flagship broadsheet newspapers to tabloid format, in a push to become a digital-media company.
CHINA
Chinese property developers performed well on mainland bourses as well as in Hong Kong on an improvement in risk-appetite and after data showing May property price data showed a smaller decline in housing prices.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index hiked 13.16 points, or 0.5%, to 2,581.21
Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. gained 3.2% and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. gained 2.7% in Hong Kong, Poly Real Estate Group Co. added 1.7% in Shanghai, and China Vanke Co. rose 0.9% in Shenzhen.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 33.55 points, or 1.8%, to 1,891.71
Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 13.22 points, or 0.5%, to 2,824.22
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gathered 125.67 points, or 1.8%, to 7,281.50
New Zealand’s NZX index added 8.60 points, or 0.3%, to 3,455.68
Australia’s ASX Index rocketed up 79.57 points, or 2%, to 4,136.90
