Asian stocks rise as Japan’s Nikkei 225 hits highest since 1996

A worker looks up to check an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm showing Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 prices in Tokyo

Asian shares gained for a fifth day as Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose to the highest level in 18 years.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2 percent to 150.22 as of 5:42 p.m. yesterday in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 increased 0.3 percent to 20,868.03, the highest since December 1996. Stocks gained as investors weighed economic data for clues on the timing of higher interest rates amid optimism that a deal on Greek aid is within reach.
Despite the prospects for higher interest rates in the U.S., “equity markets have decided that bond yields are going to go up, but not enough to really do a lot of damage to the growth prospects or valuations at this stage,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst in Sydney at CMC Markets. “The markets appear to have taken the view” that an agreement in Greece “is a foregone conclusion.”
E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent after the underlying measure advanced 0.1 percent on Tuesday. Purchases of new homes climbed in May to a 546,000 annualized pace, the strongest since February 2008, according to Commerce Department data. Another report from the agency showed orders placed with factories for business equipment rose last month for just the second time this year.
The chances are about 50-50 that the U.S. economy will improve enough for the central bank to boost borrowing costs in September, said Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, who expects policy makers to move again in December. 10-year Treasury notes climbed on Tuesday after the comments.
In Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is seeking to shore up support at home for proposals aimed at ending the indebted nation’s five-month standoff with creditors. Euro-area finance ministers were meeting yesterday to try to secure an agreement to prevent Greece from defaulting. Analysts say a solution will be found. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2 percent on Tuesday.
Japanese shippers and brokerages pushed the Nikkei 225 through its dot-com era peak. The measure is up 20 percent in 2015, climbing for a fourth year, amid optimism about the outlook for Japan company earnings and corporate governance improvements. The Topix index added 0.2 percent yesterday.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.5 percent, extending a two-day rally to 4.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.3 percent. Yuji Nakamura and Yuko Takeo, Bloomberg