Asian shares higher on progress reports on Greece debt talks, China shut

Investing.com - Tokyo and Sydney gained in Asia on Monday as investors responded to reports that a deal on Greece's debt was within sight after proposals were swapped at the weekend ahead of a crucial meeting.

European leaders are to hold emergency talks in Brussels on Monday about Greece’s bailout agreement, which is due to expire on June 30.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.78% after the break, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.18%. In China are to remain closed for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

Howeverm data released on Monday showed that Chinese stock investors reduced leveraged positions in Shanghai for the first time in a month, Bloomberg reported.

The outstanding amount of margin debt on the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell to 1.479 trillion yuan ($238 billion) on Friday from a record 1.483 trillion yuan the previous day, the first decline since May 22, Bloomberg said.

Shanghai shares sank 6.4 percent Friday to cap their worst week since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Laster, the U.S. is to release private sector data on existing home sales.

Last week, U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday reversing some of the gains from the previous session, as the ongoing Greek Debt crisis and dovish remarks from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen earlier in the week continued to weigh.

In spite of Friday's mild losses, stocks on the major indices still posted one of their best weeks in two months after Thursday's Fed-inspired surge. It is becoming increasingly likely that the FOMC could wait until December before instituting its first rate hike in nearly a decade, as it looks for stronger indications of improvement in the economy and labor market during the second half of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.56 or 0.56% to 18,014.28 snapping a three-day winning streak, while the NASDAQ Composite index lost 15.95 or 0.31% to 5,117.00, slightly below record-highs achieved earlier in the week. For the week, the Dow gained more than 120 points after opening on Monday above 17,890.

The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, dipped 11.48 or 0.54% to 2,109.76, as all 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Utilities and Financials sectors lagged, each closing down by at least 0.85%.