BANGKOK — Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday as European leaders inched toward a plan for containing a debt crisis that threatens to derail global economic growth.
Benchmark oil hovered above $83 per barrel while the dollar gained against the euro but fell against the yen.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2 percent to 8,625.40. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 1.1 percent higher at 4,048. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3 percent to 1,740.82. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.8 percent to 17,982.47.
Energy and mining stocks rose as fears dissipated of a financial blowup in Europe, which could drag down economic growth across the globe and reduce demand for raw materials such as crude oil and metals.
Japanese energy explorer Inpex Corp. rose 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong-listed shares of PetroChina, the country’s biggest oil and gas company, gained 1.7 percent. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold miner, jumped 3.2 percent.
Investment sentiment was boosted late Tuesday, when Greek lawmakers passed a controversial property tax — one of a host of painful debt-reduction measures it must undertake in exchange for rescue loans. The country will go bankrupt unless it receives an €8 billion ($11 billion) rescue loan before mid-October.
A default by Greece could ripple across the globe, threatening the solvency of European banks and other financial institutions that have large holdings of the country’s bonds.
Another encouraging sign of Europe’s commitment to Athens came from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said her country would do whatever it could to help the debt-riddled Greece.
Those signals helped boost Wall Street stocks Tuesday. The Dow rose 1.3 percent to close at 11,190.69. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.1 percent to 1,175.38. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2 percent to 2,546.83.
European markets also closed sharply higher. Germany’s DAX rose 5.3 percent, France’s CAC-40 5.7 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 4 percent.
In currency trading, the dollar fell to 76.53 yen from 76.75 yen late Tuesday in New York. The euro fell to $1.3575 from $1.3641.
Benchmark crude for November delivery was down $1.06 to $83.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $4.21 to close at $84.45 per barrel on Tuesday on the Nymex.
