(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The euro extended its gains against the dollar yesterday while most Asian equities climbed on hopes Greece's new government will be able to negotiate a bailout deal that will stop it leaving the eurozone.
Regional dealers were given a lift from advances in Europe and New York, where news of Sunday's Greek election win for anti-austerity party Syriza had been largely factored in, analysts said.
However, Hong Kong and Shanghai suffered heavy losses as traders booked profits after a rally over the past week.
Tokyo rallied 1.72%, or 299.78 points, to 17,768.30, Sydney added 0.82%, or 45.38 points, to close at 5,547.2 and Seoul rose 0.86%, or 16.72 points, to close at 1,952.40.
But Shanghai fell 0.89%, or 30.22 points, to 3,352.96 and Hong Kong eased 0.41%, or 102.62 points, to 24,807.28.
Shanghai had rallied more than 8% since last Monday, when it posted its biggest loss since mid-2008 in response to a government crackdown on margin-trading.
Markets have been buoyed by rhetoric coming out of Athens and from Greece's EU and IMF creditors that raised hopes the two sides can reach an agreement over repaying its ‚¬240bn ($270bn) bailout.
Syriza had campaigned on renegotiating terms of the lifeline € which included spending cuts and painful tax hikes € and there are concerns it will default on its repayments, potentially forcing it to exit the eurozone.
But International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said she was prepared to continue financial support to the country, while some European finance ministers suggested they were willing to talk € as long as Syriza did not demand its debt be wiped out.
The euro plunged to $1.1098 at one point in Asia on Monday, the lowest level since September 2003, before recovering later in the day to close out in New York at $1.1234.
Yesterday in Asia it bought $1.1250.
It also sank to 131.55 yen Monday in Asia before bouncing to end the day at 133.12 yen. It bought 132.90 yen in Tokyo yesterday.
The dollar edged down to 118.11 yen from 118.49 yen in US trade.
Oil prices slipped despite a warning from the Opec that prices could punch $200 owing to shrinking investment in exploration.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 10 cents to $45.05, while Brent crude for March eased 12 cents to $48.04.
Gold fetched $1,280.38 an ounce, against $1,281.39 late Monday.
In other markets, Taipei added 0.46%, or 43.92 points, to 9,521.59;Wellington was up 0.69%, or 39.08 points, at 5,737.74; Manila closed 0.58% higher, adding 43.90 points to 7,630.57; Bangkok closed flat, edging up 0.09%, or 1.50 points, to 1,589.81; Jakarta ended up 0.33%, or 17.13 points, at 5,277.15; Kuala Lumpur gained 6.73 points, or 0.37%, to close at 1,803.17 and Singapore climbed 0.40%, or 13.68 points, to close at 3,412.20.
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