Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday after Wall Street shares surged to record highs Friday, buoyed on relief over the last-minute Greek debt deal. After weeks of tension and uncertainty, Greece reached a deal on extending its bailout program for another four months, averting an immediate default. The onus now remains on Greece to propose reforms acceptable to its creditors at the EU and IMF ahead of the Monday deadline, which would be assessed and if found sufficient, could be the catalyst for a successful conclusion of the review.
Japanese shares rose to a fresh 15-year high after Greece's new government softened its stance and agreed to come up with a program for implementing harsh austerity measures imposed by the lenders. While the Nikkei average rose 0.73 percent to 18,466.92, its highest level since April 2000, the broader Topix index finished 0.17 percent higher at 1,502.83.
Among the prominent gainers, Pioneer, Nippon Express, JFE Holdings, Yamaha Corp, Nippon Suisan Kaisha and Sumco rose 3-4 percent. Biopharmaceutical company Sosei Group Corp rose 0.9 percent after it agreed to acquire U.K.-based Heptares Therapeutics for $400 million.
Industrial-robot maker Fanuc fell 2.8 percent, Inpex Corp, Japan's largest oil explorer, dropped 3.4 percent, insurers Dai-ichi Life Insurance and T& D Holdings lost 3-4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank, declined 1.7 percent.
Airbag manufacturer Takata fell 2.6 percent after U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a $14,000 per day fine against the company for failing to fully cooperate with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's ongoing probe into the company's defective airbags. Tokyo Electric Power shed 0.6 percent after the company said it has detected a fresh leak of highly radioactive water at its defunct Fukshima nuclear plant.
On the economic front, minutes from the Bank of Japan's policy meeting on January 20 and 21 revealed that board members remain satisfied with the pace of the country's economic recovery. However, many members felt that they were likely to miss their desired inflation target of 2 percent if oil prices remain low.
Australian shares rose as gains in high-yielding banking stocks outweighed declines in the resource sector in the face of disappointing corporate earnings results. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.45 percent to close at 5,908. The big four banks rose between 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent.
Shares of MacMahon Holdings plunged 37 percent as the mining services provider announced the loss of $780 million worth of work at a Fortescue Metals Group mine. Steelmaker BlueScope Steel slumped 8.1 percent after the company said a recent drop in global steel prices could compress margins in Australia. Mining giant BHP Billiton shed 0.6 percent and Fortescue Metals Group dropped 1.2 percent, while Rio Tinto rose 0.3 percent.
Oil & gas producer Beach Energy fell 1.3 percent as the company posted a $79 million half-year loss. Oil Search eased 0.6 percent, while Woodside Petroleum rose 1.2 percent and Santos gained 1.7 percent. Fuel supplier Caltex Australia edged down 0.2 percent despite the company posting a better than expected underlying annual profit.
Boart Longyear shares jumped 5 percent. The drilling services group narrowed its full-year loss, but said it would be hit by price cuts in drilling services and unfavorable exchange movements in the year ahead. Lend Lease Group advanced 0.9 percent. The construction group lifted its first half profit by 25 percent, but said it expects a dip in full-year earnings. Logistics firm Brambles declined 0.2 percent after the company reported a 6 percent increase in underlying first-half profit.
Seoul shares hit a 2-1/2 month high as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. The benchmark Kospi average rose 0.35 percent to 1,968.39 points, its highest level since December 9. The South Korean market was closed from Wednesday through Friday for the Lunar New Year holidays.
New Zealand shares eked out marginal gains, with the benchmark NZX-50 rising 0.09 percent to close at 5,754.36. Chorus rose 1.1 percent after the network operator said it will move "relatively quickly" to resume paying dividends once the Commerce Commission makes its final decision setting the company's copper line price in September. Xero advanced 1.8 percent, extending recent gains amid speculation a large seller has exited the stock. Heartland New Zealand dropped 2.2 percent after posting a 41 percent rise in first-half profit, in line with expectations.
In economic releases, New Zealand's credit card spending increased in January, reversing the previous month's slide, central bank data showed. Credit card billing rose 1.9 percent month-over-month after declining 0.5 percent in December.
Elsewhere, markets in mainland China and Taiwan remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended little changed with a positive bias ahead of China's PMI data due out on Wednesday.
Indonesian shares were little changed, India's Sensex was moving up 0.1 percent and Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was gaining 0.2 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times index was down 0.2 percent.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday after Greece agreed not to roll back austerity measures and draw up a list of financial reforms it was prepared to make by the end of April under the EU debt deal. The Dow rose 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to close at fresh record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.6 percent to reach its best level since early 2000.
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