[June 30, 2011] Hong Kong and Sydney higher after Greek vote Tweet (Baystreet Foreign Markets Wrap (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Asian shares extended gains, with banks and resources in the lead, after Greece approved austerity measures in a move to secure additional international financial aid. Hong Kong and Australian stocks led the advance, which followed the approval of debt-reduction measures in a vote by the Greek parliament Wednesday. Lawmakers are due to vote Thursday on a plan to implement the measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.5% to 22,398.10 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed with a 1.7% gain at 4,608.0. The advance marked the biggest one-day percentage gain for the Australian index since early December, and helped pare the benchmark's loss in June to 2.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, was the worst performer among major Asian benchmarks in June, ending the month with a loss of 5.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.4%. China Vanke, China's biggest developer by market value, advanced 1.5% while Yunnan Copper Industry gained 1.5%. Resources shares were higher on the back of gains in crude oil prices. BHP Billiton was up 0.7% in Sydney. In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper rose 2.4%, Cnooc, China's largest offshore oil exporter by sales, jumped 1.9% and Aluminum Corp of China added 1.1%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was little changed but utility stocks outperformed the market on expectations for more nuclear reactor restarts. The mayor of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, said on Wednesday that he will agree to allow Kyushu Electric Power to restart its power plants, which drove it up 4.3%. Tokyo Electric Power added 0.6%. Exporters extended gains with Sony up 1.7% in Tokyo. The Japanese electronics giant reshuffled the management of its computer games unit, following a recent large-scale hacking attack on its PlayStation Network. LG Electronics, the world's third-largest handset maker by sales, added 0.5%. Cosco Pacific, operator of container facilities at Greece's Piraeus port, advanced 1.9% in Hong Kong. Elsewhere: China's Shanghai Composite improved by 1.2% to 2,762.08. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the day 0.2% higher at 9,816.09. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,100.69. Taiwan's Taiex added 0.9% to 8,652.59. © 1998 - 2011 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]