Asia, Europe markets sink after Greece votes ‘No’ to austerity

HONG KONG, July 6, 2015 (AFP) — Asian equities fell Monday after Greece overwhelming rejected further austerity measures, pushing it closer to a eurozone exit, while Shanghai underwent another day of volatility as China introduced a raft of measures to shore up the slumping market.

Despite growing concerns about Athens’ place in the eurozone, the single currency rallied after Greece’s combative Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis announced his shock resignation just hours after winning Sunday’s referendum.

Tokyo fell 2.08 percent, or 427.67 points, to 20,112.12, Seoul shed 2.40 percent, or 50.48 points, to 2,053.93 and Sydney lost 1.11 percent, or 61.60 points, to 5,476.70.

Shanghai soared 7.82 percent at the open before sinking rapidly again -- losing almost one percent briefly in the afternoon. But it ended the day 2.41 percent higher, adding 89.00 points, to 3,775.91.

Hong Kong plunged 3.18 percent, or 827.83 points, to 25236.28 — wiping out a 0.70 percent rise in the opening minutes that came on the coat-tails of the mainland gains.

In London, European stock markets slid at the start of trading on Monday after eurozone member Greece rejected creditors’ austerity demands in a weekend referendum.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 2.11 percent to 10,825.06 points and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 2.06 percent to 4,709.01 points. Outside the eurozone, the FTSE 100 index lost 1.07 percent to stand at 6,515.67 compared with Friday’s close.

The vote result has fuelled fears the country will crash out of the eurozone, but the euro rallied after Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis announced his shock resignation.

While the referendum was a victory for the government, Varoufakis suggested he could be an impediment to future debt talks.

While the euro sank to $1.0963 in US electronic trade immediately after the poll, it recovered throughout Monday and ticked even higher after Varoufakis’ announcement.