Hong Kong---Most Asian markets edged higher Tuesday, enjoying a slight recovery after the previous day's rout, with Greece just hours away from default, while Shanghai's suffered more sharp losses.
The euro edged down and analysts warned of volatility this week as Greece prepares for a Sunday referendum on creditors' bailout reform proposals, which European chiefs say boils down to a vote on whether the nation wants to stay in the eurozone.
Tokyo rose 0.36 percent, Hong Kong added 0.13 percent, Sydney gained 0.32 percent and Seoul was up 0.35 percent.
Shanghai continued to face heavy selling pressure, dropping five percent after plunging more than 20 percent from a June 12 peak. Shenzhen lost more than six percent.
With talks between Athens' leaders and creditors now completely broken down after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the July 5 plebiscite, Greece is widely expected to miss its payment to the IMF due later Tuesday.
"(How) is it possible the creditors are waiting for the IMF payment while our banks are being suffocated?" Tsipras said in a late-evening interview on ERT television in Greece.
Failure to pay will leave the country in default, which could lead to it leaving the eurozone. However, top European leaders including Germany's Angela Merkel France's Francois Hollande and Italy's Matteo Renzi called on the Greek people to vote for the creditors' proposals.
"A 'No' would mean, regardless of the question posed, that Greece had said no to Europe," said EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker, previously Tsipras's closest -- and sometimes only -- ally in five months of debt talks.
The decision to push ahead with the vote led Standard & Poor's rating agency to downgrade Greece's credit rating deeper into junk territory, saying it was now closer to default.
AFP
