Stocks down despite Greek deal

World stock markets were mostly lower today despite European leaders finally clinching a deal to prevent Greece going bankrupt.

Benchmark oil hovered near 105 US dollars per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro but rose against the yen.

Shares in Europe opened lower, just hours after leaders reached an agreement on a financial rescue package for Greece, which is teetering on the brink of a major debt default.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 5,923.93, Germany’s DAX lost 0.3 % to 6,927.46 and France’s CAC-40 shed 0.4% to 3,457.23.

But US stock futures advanced after a three-day public holiday. Dow Jones industrial futures were up 0.4% to 12,983 and S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% to 1,364.

Asian shares were mixed earlier in the day. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.2% at 9,463.02, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 21,478.72 and South Korea’s Kospi was nearly unchanged at 2,024.24.

Benchmarks in Taiwan and the Philippines fell while Singapore, Australia and mainland China rose.

Greece urgently needs the €130bn package before it can move ahead with yet another deal to sharply reduce the amount of money Greece owes its private investors. Without the money, Greece will default on its debts, starting on March 20 when a bond repayment is due.

Many observers feel it falls far short of what Greece needs to prevent financial collapse. On top of that, Europe does not have the will or the ability to spend the amount actually required to keep Athens afloat, analysts said.

“Greece is a hopeless case,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. “I don’t think you should throw good money after bad. It’s a bottomless pit. It doesn’t make sense.”

In Tokyo, a waning yen failed to perk up many of Japan’s big exporters, whose profits increase when the home currency weakens. Panasonic lost 1.9%, Sharp fell 2% and Nintendo fell 1.6%.

Hong Kong-listed China Railway Construction jumped 2.1% on news of China’s decision to accelerate development in its western regions, including about 9,300 miles (15,000km) of railways that will be opened by the end of 2015, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

But oil refiners, airlines and shippers were hurt by rising oil prices. Hong Kong-listed China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, Asia’s biggest oil refiner known as Sinopec, fell 1%. Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines shed 1.1% and Korean Air Lines plummeted 6.4%.

Mainland Chinese shares in information technology, household appliances, media and entertainment-related companies led the advance.

“The market continued to rise mainly due to the positive news over the weekend with the reduction in bank reserve requirements. Investors expect that monetary policy will not be tight this year,” said Li Jianfeng, an analyst at Caida Securities, based in Shanghai.

China Television Media gained 7.7% while Shanghai Xinhua Media Co added 2.6%, helped by government plans to single out the media and entertainment industries for support in coming years, Mr Li said.

In Australia, strong earnings reports helped set a positive tone. OneSteel, the country’s second-biggest steel maker, jumped 12.3% after releasing a bullish forecast about growth from its mining interests.

Benchmark crude was up 1.49 dollars to 104.73 dollars a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The euro jumped to 1.3270 dollars from 1.3159 dollars late on Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 79.63 yen from 79.46 yen.