Asian markets decline after delay in Greece decision
Asian stock markets fell today, after Europe's finance ministers postponed approval of an urgently needed aid payment for debt-mired Greece.
The ministers, meeting yesterday in Brussels, gave Greece two more years, until 2016, to cut its deficit and make changes to its economy.
But they delayed approval of the next instalment of a huge bailout loan - some €31.5bn, intended to keep the country temporarily afloat.
Analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary that the Eurogroup meeting did not "result in an agreement to deliver Greece its next loan tranche but this came as no surprise".
The European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission have twice agreed to bail out Greece, pledging a total of €240bn in rescue loans.
The country has received about €150bn of those loans so far, in exchange for making tough budget cuts and sweeping reforms to its labour market and bureaucracy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% to 8,647.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1% at 21,211.94.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.7% to 1,887.51. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1% to 4,399.70.
