World stock mostly higher, cheered by U.S. rally

TOKYO - Global shares were mostly higher Thursday after signs of progress in Greece's bailout talks sparked a rally on Wall Street. A benchmark interest rate cut in New Zealand sent that nation's currency tumbling.

France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent to 4,953.55 in early trading. Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent at 11,333.41. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed at 6,829.98. U.S. markets looked set for a tepid start, with Dow and S&P futures little changed.

Bloomberg reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be willing to release more money from Greece's bailout fund if the Greek government commits to at least one move to tighten its budget. Without a deal by the end of the month, Greece faces the prospect of going bankrupt and dropping the euro.

South Korea's central bank lowered its key interest rate to a historic low of 1.5 percent, partly because of concerns the outbreak of the deadly MERS virus could slow the economy. New Zealand's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 3.25 percent as farmers grapple with price drops for milk exports.

"With the familiar media blackout ahead of next Thursday's FOMC, the market is pretty much left to its own device once again. Naturally, they steered towards data-watching," says Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG in Singapore, referring to a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.7 percent to close at 20,382.97. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to2,056.61 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent to 26,902.85. The Shanghai Composite inched up 0.3 percent to 5,121.59. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.4 percent to 5,556.70.

The U.S. dollar rose to 1.43 New Zealand dollars after the rate cut from 1.40 a day earlier. The euro fell to $1.1256 from $1.1348 in late trading Wednesday. The dollar recovered to 123.54 yen from 122.86 yen, after sliding Wednesday when the Bank of Japan chief signaled the yen probably won't keep falling.

Benchmark U.S. crude was down 23 cents to $61.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.29 to close at $61.43 a barrel in Nymex floor trading on Wednesday after the Energy Department's weekly supply report showed a surprisingly big drop in crude inventories along with rising demand for gasoline. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, added 30 cents to $66.67.