TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. stock futures jumped and the euro gained in early Asian trade on Friday after Greece offered new reform proposals to creditors, raising hopes of a cash-for-reform deal at a weekend summit of European leaders.
S&P 500 mini futures rose to as high as 2061.75, up 1.0 percent from late U.S. levels. They last stood at 2058.50, up 0.9 percent.
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1061 , up 0.2 percent from around $1.1035 in late U.S. trade while the dollar also gained 0.3 percent against the safe-haven yen to 121.71 yen .
New measures Greece offered included a tax hike on shipping companies and scrapping tax breaks for its islands, higher value added tax for restaurants and a firm timetable for privatizations.
The Greek government will ask for parliament’s approval on Friday to negotiate on the text of “prior actions” that could form the basis of a cash-for-reforms deal with creditors, a government source said.
Germany, Athens biggest creditor, also made a small concession on Thursday by acknowledging that Greece will need some debt restructuring as part of the new program to make its public finances viable in the medium-term.
Hopes on a deal for Greece is likely to support Asian shares, though volatility in Chinese shares will likely need to ease off further before many investors step up buying.
“U.S. futures are higher, but we are waiting to see if stocks in Shanghai continue to recover, and if the VIX comes off its highs, before we can say that risk sentiment has improved, even as the Greek news has raised hopes,” said Junichi Ishikawa, market analyst at IG Securities in Tokyo.
Beijing’s increasingly frantic attempts to stem a stock market rout were finally rewarded on Thursday as Chinese shares bounced around 6 percent.
But investors are not sure if the worst is over in the short term, and the costs of heavy-handed state intervention in the stock market are likely to weigh on the market for a long time.
