Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed to higher on Monday, regaining ground after plunging by the most in six months on Friday after world leaders from the Group of 8 nations affirmed they want Greece to remain in the euro zone.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.55%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index rose 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.25%.
A weekend Group of Eight meeting in Washington D.C. brought together leaders of the world's most industrialized nations, who expressed support for keeping Greece in the euro zone.
But investors remained on edge as no clear cut solution was presented at the weekend summit.
Global equities have been rattled since the uncertain outcome of the May 6 elections in Greece, which threw the future of the country’s international bailout deal into doubt and fuelled fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Market sentiment was set to remain fragile as the debt-laden country called for new elections to take place on June 17. The vote will likely determine whether the highly indebted country remains in the single currency area.
In Japan, the Nikkei recovered from Friday’s four-month low, as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations after entering technically oversold territory.
The Nikkei is down more than 15% since hitting a one-year high on March 27, after rallying more than 19% in the first three months of the year, as China’s economic growth slowed and on renewed concern about Europe’s debt crisis.
Gains in index heavyweights Fast Retailing and Fanuc offered support. Shares in Fast Retailing rose 2.6%, while industrial robot maker Fanuc tacked on 1.5% after the Nikkei Newspaper reported that the firm will boost production capacity for numerical-control equipment.
On the downside, shares in Renesas Electronics tumbled 10.3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the semiconductor maker to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’, citing the company may need to raise capital.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng came under selling pressure despite supportive comments made over the weekend from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo.
Wen said China will focus more on bolstering economic growth, raising hopes for further fiscal and monetary easing measures from Beijing.
Hong Kong-listed financial firms were mostly flat, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shares down 0.2%, China Construction Bank shares up 0.4%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings dropped 1.6%.
The index was weighed by a 4.2% decline in Chinese online giant Tencent Holdings.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia bounced off the previous session’s six-month low, advancing on the back of gains in miners.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto jumped 2.4% and 2.1%, while gold producer Newcrest Mining added 2%.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly lower, after a pledge of support for keeping Greece in the euro zone following a weekend summit of G8 leaders failed to ease investors’ jitters.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.55%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures slipped 0.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on economic activity in the Chicago-area.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.55%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index rose 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.25%.
A weekend Group of Eight meeting in Washington D.C. brought together leaders of the world's most industrialized nations, who expressed support for keeping Greece in the euro zone.
But investors remained on edge as no clear cut solution was presented at the weekend summit.
Global equities have been rattled since the uncertain outcome of the May 6 elections in Greece, which threw the future of the country’s international bailout deal into doubt and fuelled fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Market sentiment was set to remain fragile as the debt-laden country called for new elections to take place on June 17. The vote will likely determine whether the highly indebted country remains in the single currency area.
In Japan, the Nikkei recovered from Friday’s four-month low, as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations after entering technically oversold territory.
The Nikkei is down more than 15% since hitting a one-year high on March 27, after rallying more than 19% in the first three months of the year, as China’s economic growth slowed and on renewed concern about Europe’s debt crisis.
Gains in index heavyweights Fast Retailing and Fanuc offered support. Shares in Fast Retailing rose 2.6%, while industrial robot maker Fanuc tacked on 1.5% after the Nikkei Newspaper reported that the firm will boost production capacity for numerical-control equipment.
On the downside, shares in Renesas Electronics tumbled 10.3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the semiconductor maker to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’, citing the company may need to raise capital.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng came under selling pressure despite supportive comments made over the weekend from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo.
Wen said China will focus more on bolstering economic growth, raising hopes for further fiscal and monetary easing measures from Beijing.
Hong Kong-listed financial firms were mostly flat, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shares down 0.2%, China Construction Bank shares up 0.4%, while index heavyweight HSBC Holdings dropped 1.6%.
The index was weighed by a 4.2% decline in Chinese online giant Tencent Holdings.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia bounced off the previous session’s six-month low, advancing on the back of gains in miners.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto jumped 2.4% and 2.1%, while gold producer Newcrest Mining added 2%.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly lower, after a pledge of support for keeping Greece in the euro zone following a weekend summit of G8 leaders failed to ease investors’ jitters.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.55%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures slipped 0.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on economic activity in the Chicago-area.