Asian shares hit by fears over Greece and US rate rise

Asian shares were down on Tuesday as investors continued to worry about a Greek debt default and the timing of a US interest rate rise. Fears of a Greek debt default continued to weigh on markets as the country's bailout programme is due to expire at the end of June with no deal in place. Meanwhile, expectations are growing of a US interest rate hike in September after an upbeat jobs report last week. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 1.8% at 20,096.30 on a firmer yen. Chinese shares headed lower despite inflation data. Consumer prices rose 1.2% from the previous year, compared to forecasts of 1.3%, while producer prices fell 4.6% against expectations of a 4.5% decline. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.9% to 27,084.98, while the Shanghai Composite was lower by 1.1% to 5,074.17. Shares of banking giant HSBC were up 0.8% after it announced up to 25,000 job cuts. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished down 0.5% to 5,471.3 after being closed the previous day for a holiday. South Korean shares ended flat. The benchmark Kospi index closed at 2,064.03 points. The US dollar was lower. The dollar was at 124.54 yen, according to BBC.