Greek confidence vote sends Asian markets soaring

Greek prime minister George Papandreou yesterday survived a vote of confidence in his government, sending Asian markets soaring overnight.

The under fire premier was given the green light to push ahead with austerity plans after surviving a crucial vote regarding his cabinet.

In reaction, markets moved higher on renewed hopes Greece can avoid default, with Asian and US shares closing sharply higher.

The Nikkei jumped to a three-week high of 9,629 points, up 1.8%, while the Shanghai Composite also firmed, up 0.3% to 2,655 points.

US markets had closed prior to the events in Greece, with the S&P 500 ending the day's trading 1.3% higher at 1,296.

Papandreou is now in a position to push forward with his austerity plans despite violent opposition from citizens within Greece, in a move which should ensure further cash is made available to the stricken country.

Earlier this week member states had suggested they would not make any more cash available to Greece until it vowed to stick to the austerity package it has pledged to introduce.