Asian shares mixed with Greece bailout prospects in focus

Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday with Tokyo higher, but China off slightly on global turmoil connected to Greece.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.84%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.15%. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.46%.

Talks between Greece and its European partners running into Thursday morning failed to reach agreement on a way forward to allow the debt-laden country to get a needed funding program in place before the end of the month.

"We did make a lot of progress in the sense that we now understand better where we all are," Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said at a press conference in Brussels. "But there was simply not enough to come to joint conclusions and that is the requirement to produce a statement."

The talks between European finance ministers that ran into Thursday morning meant that the Eurogroup failed to produce a joint statement on the outcome of the meeting.

Negotiations will now move towards next Monday when there is another Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. Dijsselbloem said.

Greece’s current bailout is due to expire on February 28 and the new Greek government does not want it extended, fuelling concerns that a conflict with international creditors could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone.

Athens was expected to ask for a bridge loan to cover its funding needs until September, and to also propose new economic reforms to replace 30% of its massive bailout deal.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's government won a confidence vote on Tuesday evening and reiterated that he will deliver on pre-election pledges to roll back austerity measures and reject an international bailout extension.

Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Consumer Goods and Health Care sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.00%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.28%.