Asian shares mixed after Greek debt talks

Asian stock markets were mixed today (February 17th) after Greek debt talks broke down, raising the prospect the country might leave the euro currency.

Greece rejected a bailout proposal by its eurozone partners yesterday, before they told the country to ask for an extension to its existing bailout program before further talks on its financing can take place.

If no agreement is reached soon, investors worry that Greece might have little option but to default and exit the eurozone.

Europe will remain an overarching risk story for investors," IG strategist Evan Lucas told AP. "In the more likely scenario of Greece remaining in the EU, the question remains of whether the ECB would provide additional support, looking to provide stimulus rather than forcing further austerity."

Meanwhile, fresh data signalled some stabilisation in China's property market. New home prices posted their fifth month of annual drops in January, down 5.1 per cent from the year-ago period, according to Reuters calculations.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 remained flat at 18,001.58 while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9 per cent to 3,252.30.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent to 24,808.39 and Seoul's Kospi was up 0.1 per cent at 1,959.61.

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