Asian shares ride China bounce

Asian shares and the euro gained on Friday as investors took heart from strength in recently volatile Chinese markets, and after Greece's offer of a new reform plan raised hopes of a deal at a weekend summit of European leaders. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended early gains and was up 1.2 per cent. Shanghai's benchmark composite index was up 3.7 per cent, while the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen added 4.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei stock index erased early losses and tacked on 0.4 per cent. Australian shares rose 0.7 per cent on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 index gained 41.7 points in a broad-based rally to 5,518.0 by 0209 GMT. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.1 per cent or 6.8 points to 5,755.3. The euro extended gains, adding 0.4 per cent to $1.1081, while the dollar gained 0.5 per cent against the safe-haven yen to 121.88 yen, according to Reuters.