Tokyo: Stocks open up 0.27%, shrug off Greek default

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks opened 0.27 per cent higher Wednesday as investors largely shrugged off a Greek default on debt owed to the International Monetary Fund.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 55.32 points to 20,291.05 at the start.

Tokyo opened hours after Greece became the first developed country to default on its debt to the IMF, after missing a 1.5-billion-euro (S$2.3-billion) payment.

The higher opening also came after the release of a better-than-expected business confidence survey by the Bank of Japan.

The euro remained pressured early Wednesday, buying US$1.1133 and 136.29 yen from US$1.1139 and 136.38 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar was at 122.42 yen against 122.44 yen.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.13 per cent higher Tuesday as Greece edged closer to a debt default.

Greece earlier missed Tuesday's deadline to repay the IMF. Athens has said it asked the IMF to extend the deadline for its payment, a move that would give the government financial room to continue negotiations with official creditors.

The Washington-based lender has not ruled on the request.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras plunged bailout talks with creditors into chaos as he announced a referendum for Sunday on whether to accept bailout reform plans that he said would humiliate the country.

AFP