Greece's parliament overnight approved a third bailout agreement
Asian markets closed mixed today, as
China's yuan continued to capture the attention of traders. Specifically, the country's currency stabilized after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) increased its daily reference rate by 0.05%. The yuan has spent most of the week tumbling -- and
sending ripples through global markets -- following policymakers' surprise decision to devalue the currency. At the close, China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.1%, and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4% on pressure from
falling energy prices. South Korea's Kospi was shuttered for holiday.
European benchmarks are lower at midday, after dreary second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) readings from Germany, France, and the broader eurozone. Traders are also keeping a close eye on Greece, after the country's lawmakers approved
a multi-billion-dollar bailout agreement overnight. The plan will now be discussed at a meeting among eurozone finance ministers in Brussels later today. Against this backdrop, the French CAC 40 is down 0.5%, the German DAX is off 0.4%, and London's FTSE 100 is 0.1% lower.