Asian shares climb after Greece lawmakers approve bailout deal

Asian stock markets were up in 16 July trading after Athens ratified fresh austerity measures in exchange for a bailout package worth £60bn (€86bn, $94bn).

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index climbed for the fourth straight session, rising 0.4% to 20,561.07 points at around 4.30am GMT.

Investor sentiment is on the up after Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen affirmed that US interest rates would be hiked by the end of the year.

"Prospects are favourable for further improvement in the US labour market and the economy more broadly," she said in her semi-annual testimony to Congress.

"Low oil prices and ongoing employment gains should continue to bolster consumer spending, financial conditions generally remain supportive of growth, and the highly accommodative monetary policies abroad should work to strengthen global growth."

The Shanghai Composite Index opened lower but recovered to post a gain of 0.9% at 3,843.35, while Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index held steady at 25,064.43.

Earlier, 229 Greek MPs backed legislation involving new austerity measures, including cutting pensions, raising taxes and liberalising the labour market, to enable a third bailout deal with the country's creditors to move forward.

This was despite several of the proposed measures being rejected by the Greek people in a referendum on 5 July.

Sixty four lawmakers voted no, including 32 from the governing Syriza party, and six abstained.

Elsewhere, South Korea's KOSPI index climbed 0.2% to 2,078.84 and Sydney's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.3% to 5,655.30.