TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose, led by insurers and banks, as investors await an emergency summit in Brussels that could decide Greece’s future in the euro zone.
Asahi Kasei Corp. gained 1.9 percent after a report the chemical producer’s operating profit may rise as much as 20 percent. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. added 5.4 percent after Barclays Plc raised its rating on the drugmaker. Sumco Corp. lost 2.2 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG cut its target price on the silicon wafer maker.
The Topix index added 0.7 percent to 1,642.07 at the trading break in Tokyo, with about five shares rising for every three that fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.8 percent to 20,335.31. U.S. futures rose after Greece at the weekend proposed “a definitive solution” to unlock bailout funds, according to a government statement.
“The U.S. market seems to be reacting somewhat positively to the new Greek proposals,” Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo said by phone. “The fact that there’s a new proposal on the table appears to be seen favorably.”
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is heading to Brussels for back-to-back meetings, culminating in an emergency summit Monday.
Ahead of the talks, Tsipras will meet with European Council head Donald Tusk before they’re joined by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, an e-mailed statement from the Greek prime minister’s office said.
