Asian shares edge up as central banks stand ready to act

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan crawled up 0.2%, Nikkei share average gained 0.5%

Asian shares edged up on Friday, and the euro held most of the previous session's gains, as nervous investors took comfort from plans for coordinated action by major central banks to stabilise markets if Sunday's election in Greece results in turmoil.

Global markets have been volatile this week amid uncertainty about the outcome of the poll, which could set Greece on a path out of the euro zone and increase the likelihood of financial contagion engulfing other weak economies in the bloc.

"Expectations of further stimulus from global central banks will provide some upside, but investors will want to wait for Greece before taking clear positions," said Lee Young-gon, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities in Seoul.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan crawled up 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei share average gained 0.5%.

Officials from the G20 nations, whose leaders are meeting in Mexico next week, told Reuters on Thursday that central banks were ready to take steps to stabilise financial markets - if needed - by providing liquidity and prevent any credit squeeze after Sunday's election.

The news boosted US stocks, which closed up around 1% on Thursday, while the euro extended earlier gains.

The single currency was steady around $1.2620 on Friday, having risen as far as $1.2635 in the previous session.

Oil rose, with benchmark US crude up 0.5% to around $84.30 a barrel, after OPEC agreed on Thursday to keep its collective output ceiling unchanged for the second half of the year at 30 million barrels per day.

Gold stood little changed around $1,622 an ounce.