Tokyo: Stocks up 0.81% by break after Greek debt deal

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks rose 0.81 per cent on Monday morning, as investors reacted to news that eurozone ministers agreed to extend Greece's bailout by four months, giving Athens some critical breathing room.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which hit a 15-year high last week, added 148.89 points to 18,481.19 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.46 per cent, or 6.90 points, to 1,507.23.

"Greece has been given a lifeline, even if just short-term, which is a positive boost to the market," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, told Bloomberg News.

"Investors are getting into risk-on mode. However, Greece has only earned itself four months so we'll see the same problems again around June." On Friday, US stocks bolted to fresh records after the eurozone conditionally gave Greece the bailout extension, easing worries over its future in the eurozone.

The bailout will be extended as long as Greece sets out key reform commitments by Monday, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said following a meeting with finance ministers in Brussels.

In Tokyo share trading, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 1.21 per cent to 658.0 yen by the break after a consortium led by the nation's top heavy machinery maker struck a US$3.36 billion deal to build Qatar's first subway system.

Toyota gained 0.97 per cent to 8,157.0 yen, while Sony rose 0.24 per cent to 3,209.0 yen.

On currency markets, the euro was slightly higher at US$1.1387 and 135.55 yen, from US$1.1381 and 135.51 yen on Friday in New York where it got a boost from the conditional Greek debt deal.

The dollar barely budged at 119.04 yen against 119.03 yen in US trade.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.86 per cent to 18,140.44, notching its first record of 2015, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.61 per cent to 2,110.30, also a record. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.63 per cent.

AFP