Asian Stocks Rise But Euro Zone Concerns Continue

Most Asian markets rose Wednesday but investors remain cautious as the debt crisis looms large over the euro zone.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite rose 0.46 percent, or 10.31 points, to 2232.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.06 percent, or 201.60 points, to 19183.44. Major gainers were China Overseas Land & Investment (2.67 percent) and China Resources Land Ltd (3.67 percent).

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average remained flat. Among major losers were Sony Corp (1.63 percent) and Toyota Corp (1.15 percent). Shares of Sharp Corp rose 1.78 percent.

India's BSE Sensex rose 0.59 percent, or 100.16 points, to 17006.74. Major gainers were Ambuja Cements Ltd (1.14 percent), Cairn India Ltd (0.97 percent) and Suzlon Energy Ltd (0.84 percent). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took over the finance portfolio after Pranab Mukherjee resigned from the post Tuesday.

South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index fell 0.30 percent or, 5.43 points, to 1812.38. Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose 2.28 percent, and shares of Hyundai Motor Co dropped 4 percent.

Investors are worried that there are no concrete measures in place so far to tackle the euro zone crisis. They are watching out for the European Union summit in Brussels to be held on June 28-29 where a whole host of measures are reportedly on the agenda.

Market players, however, are concerned that with Germany opposed to providing more funds without central budget supervision and France not in favor of ceding power to Berlin, policymakers could disappoint again in the EU summit.

Germany is opposed to joint funding of government borrowing or bank recapitalization unless it has control of other countries’ fiscal and banking policies. Meanwhile, France and Italy are in agreement for rapid moves to provide financial aid and are unwilling to relinquish sovereignty to Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande are meeting Wednesday in Paris, where they are expected to discuss the present sovereign debt crisis situation ahead of the EU summit.