Asian stocks mixed on China Greece worries
There’s more and more uncertainty over the future of Greece in the eurozone.
Asian stocks ended the week on a mixed note today (April 24th), despite an upbeat overnight session on Wall Street on strong corporate earnings. The Nasdaq gained 0.4 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent, and the Dow ended 0.1 per cent higher.
However, Greece was weighing on investors' minds, with uncertainty over the future of the country in the eurozone growing as the nation prepares for a meeting with the Eurogroup later today.
"It is now clear that the chances of Greece reaching a deal to unblock the funds during the coming meeting on April 24th are very slim. This means that Greece is unlikely to receive official funds until at least the next Eurogroup meeting scheduled for May 11th, which given the lack of progress on negotiations so far, also seems unlikely at this stage," IHS analysts wrote in a note seen by CNBC.
"This creates significant uncertainty regarding Greece's ability to pay its bills over the coming weeks and months," the note added.
A survey by HSBC also dampened the mood, as it revealed that China's manufacturing activity weakened this month to its lowest level in a year in a new sign of economic weakness.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent to 20,050.99 while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6 per cent to 4,390.40. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2 per cent to 5,917.70, Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.4 per cent to 27,935.92 and Seoul's Kospi added 0.2 per cent to 2,178.13.
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