Japan stocks shrug off Greece fears
Japanese stocks are rallying further despite concerns Greece may be forced to leave the eurozone should it fail to negotiate a new bailout deal.
Germany rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its loan programme without austerity reforms, calling it a “Trojan horse” proposal.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% at the open, after having closed at a 15-year high on Thursday following positive monthly trade data.
The broader Topix rose by 0.8%.
Trading in the rest of Asia is subdued, however, due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam remain closed.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 is trading 0.2% lower due to a decline in mining and energy stocks. New Zealand stocks are largely unchanged.
Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics said a Greek exit from the eurozone would be felt primarily through the financial markets.
“The shock of ‘Grexit’ finally taking place would be likely to dampen global risk appetite, leading to a sell-off in global equities and some emerging market assets,” he wrote in a report.
“On the other hand, there would be an increase in demand for safe havens, including non-euro government bonds and gold”.
Gold prices rose by more than 1% and is trading at about $1,208.70 an ounce in the US spot market overnight.
Source: bbc – Japan stocks shrug off Greece fears
