Regional markets up on Greece hopes

SINGAPORE stocks rallied together with Asian markets on Tuesday as signs emerged that Greece might be able to strike a deal with its creditors. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was up 24.65 points to close at 3,339.78, up 0.74 per cent. Gainers outnumbered losers 232 to 196. Some 1.05 billion shares with a total value of S$916.8 million changed hands.

Greece offered new budget proposals on Monday that included higher taxes and plans to curtail early retirement, but not pension and wage cuts required by lenders, Reuters reported.

"The initial signals that an agreement could be reached this week are positive," said French bank Societe Generale in a Tuesday report.