| Overview Stock markets Share prices Currencies Commodities Gilts & Bonds UK Earnings | ||
 | London | Wall Street | Asia | |
Nikkei 225 Index
Last Updated at 27 Jan 2015, 01:45 ET *Chart shows local time| value | change | % |
|---|---|---|
| 17768.30 | + +299.78 | + +1.72 |
Japan's Nikkei share index rose sharply on Tuesday, helped by a weaker yen and by the calm reaction in US and European markets to the Greek election result.
Asia took its cue from Wall Street, where shares reversed early falls to end the day slightly higher.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 1.7% at 17,768.3 - its highest close since late December.
The dollar firmed against the yen to 118.20 from Monday's low of 117.26.
Toyota's shares rose 1.2% after a local report that the carmaker will change the way it pays factory workers, focusing on their performance rather than their seniority.
China profits weakShares in China fell after data showed that factory profits grew at their weakest rate in two years in 2014.
Profits for large Chinese industrial companies rose 3.3% last year from 2013, while profits shrank 8% in December - the worst performance in at least a year.
The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.7% to 3,358.82, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.4% to 24,805.95.
Australian shares were higher after being closed for a public holiday on Monday.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.8% at 5,547.2, despite a measure of business conditions falling further in December as earnings and employment softened.
National Australia Bank's monthly survey showed its index of business conditions eased to below its long-run average.
In South Korea, shares were boosted by a central bank survey which showed that consumer sentiment had improved in January for the first time in four months.
The Bank of Korea's consumer sentiment index ticked up to 102 from a revised 101 in December.
A reading above 100 indicates that consumers who expect economic conditions to improve outnumber those expecting them to worsen.
The benchmark Kospi index finished up 0.9% at 1,952.4, a one-month high.