Chinese shares swung back to positive territory Thursday, as hundreds of shares resumed trading, while markets elsewhere in Asia rose after Greece approved austerity measures to secure a bailout.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 136.79 points, or 0.7%, 20.600.12,
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 107.02, or 0.4%, to 25,162.78, while Chinese firms trading there were up 0.3%.
Greece got closer to securing a fresh bailout by passing austerity measures early Thursday, a prerequisite for 86 billion euros ($95 billion U.S.) in loans for the next three years from the euro-zone and International Monetary Fund.
Still, experts say it’s unlikely that this week’s deal between Greece and its euro-zone creditors will restore the country’s economic vitality. The “Greek drama” of the past few years had morphed into an endless Spanish-language telenovela, they said.
The euro gained after the deal before trickling back to around $1.0934 U.S. The Japanese yen was last at ¥123.78, flat from late Wednesday in New York.
The U.S. dollar got a lift Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to Congress that affirmed plans to raise the short-term benchmark interest rate later this year. That helped push the South Korean won to a fresh two-year low against the greenback, at 1,149.80 won, from its Wednesday close of 1,143.6 won.
In New Zealand, the local currency hit a five-year low of $0.6561 U.S. Thursday, from $0.6591 U.S. late in New York Wednesday, after softer-than-expected inflation data. The local currency is roughly down 16% against the U.S. dollar year to date, making it the worst performing Asia-Pacific currency this year.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 regained 30.60 points, or 0.8%, to 3,997.36
The gains follow two days of losses.
Meanwhile, some analysts say regulators’ increased scrutiny over gray-market margin financing has driven most of the highly leveraged funds out of the market. Some brokers estimate that the total volume of gray-market margin financing still could stand at one trillion yuan ($161 billion U.S.), funneled to investors through trusts and peer-to-peer lending platforms.
Another factor is that hundreds of firms returned to trade Thursday on the two mainland markets this week, after widespread suspensions. The lifted halts led to volatile trading earlier in the week, with many resumed shares popping as much as the 10% daily limit set by regulators, as investors moved money out of other holdings. Those spikes have started to abate, reducing the incentive for investors to rotate money into them.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index surrendered 11.99 points, or 0.1%, to 9,042.21
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 14.98 points, or 0.7%, to 2,087.89
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gathered 14.59 points, or 0.4%, to 3,353.45
The NZX 50 surged 18.20 points, or 0.3%, to 5,824.15
The ASX 200 Index moved forward 33.38 points, or 0.6%, to 5,669.61
