Stocks in most Asian markets rose Tuesday, although gains were
capped by caution amid uncertainty in Greece and ahead of testimony
from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
Benchmark indexes from Taiwan to Australia were up a fraction of
a percent, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was flat, having hit
consecutive 15-year highs in recent sessions.
The dollar was up at Yen118.96, from Yen118.81 late Monday in
New York, although investors were hesitant to make large wagers
before Ms. Yellen's assessment of the U.S. economy starting
Tuesday, which could offer clues on the schedule for raising
interest rates. Higher rates are expected to curb money flows to
riskier assets, including stocks.
"Weak oil and lack of dollar upside will hinder the [Tokyo]
stock market, " said Daiwa Securities senior strategist Tsuyoshi
Nomaguchi. "Still, the fundamentals for U.S. economic growth remain
in place, and Yellen's testimony before Congress will be closely
eyed for any reassuring or cautious tone."
Meanwhile, Greece's government pushed back until Tuesday a list
of awaited reforms that its eurozone partners had demanded in
exchange for continuing to fund the country for another few
months.
Greek officials said late Monday that the list would be sent the
following morning, past the original midnight deadline. Eurozone
finance ministers are due to review the proposed reforms during a
conference call Tuesday afternoon.
Investors globally are watching developments in Greece because
of the possibility that the country could exit the European
monetary arrangement and threaten eurozone stability. Over the
weekend, the new Greek government was locked in feverish
deliberations with its bailout inspectors--from the European
Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European
Central Bank--as Athens sought their acceptance of alternative
reform proposals.
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Monday as a decline in oil
prices weighed on energy stocks. The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2%
while China's mainland markets remained closed for the Lunar New
Year holiday.
In Japan, shares of Hitachi Ltd. were down 0.5%, after the firm
agreed to buy the rail division of Finmeccanica of Italy. The
acquisition, worth over Yen250 billion ($2.08 billion), would be
Hitachi's biggest ever, according to the Nikkei, a business
daily.
BHP Billiton Ltd. shares were up 2.7% after the firm reported
its profit for the last six months of 2014 fell 47% to US$4.27
billion as iron ore and other key commodities saw sharp price
declines. The result was higher than the median US$3.59 billion
forecast by a Wall Street Journal poll of analysts. The mining
major also offered an upbeat outlook and raised its dividend by
5%.
Bradford Frischkorn contributed to this article.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com
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