Asian stocks hit by Greek ‘No’ vote, China bucks trend

 

An investor cools off with a fan at a private securities company in Shanghai, China [Image: Archives]

Asian stock markets are down amid fears about Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone.

Indian stocks opened with sharp losses on Monday as Greece voted for “no” in the bailout referendum.

The benchmark SP BSE Sensex opened at 27,857.20, 235.59 points or 0.84 per cent down from previous close of 28,092.79.

Hong Kong stocks ended its Monday morning session at 25,234.75 points, dropping 829.36 points, or 3. 18 per cent, led by Greece’s debt crisis.

China’s mainland bucked the trend.

China’s CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen jumped 4.2 per cent in early trade, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC soared 5 per cent.

Beijing had sent in rapid-fire support measures over the weekend.

Greeks voted overnight to reject demands by international creditors for more austerity measures, leading to worries that a financial crisis will be triggered in the country.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index once fell 957 points, or 3.67 percent, to 25,189 during the morning session.

21 major securities brokers in China convened on Saturday in Beijing, vowing to “firmly” stabilize the country’s stock market, which has been shaken by continued plunges.
“Twenty-one securities brokerages will jointly invest 15 percent of net assets as of the end of June, or no less than 120 billion yuan ($19.3 billion), in blue chip exchange traded funds,” a statement on the website of the Securities Association of China said.

Source: Agencies