Asian stocks climbed and the euro inched higher on Monday after policymakers approved an emergency tranche of funding for Greece, offering a lifeline to the debt-stricken nation while strong U.S. data also boosted demand for risky assets.

Euro zone finance ministers on Saturday approved a 12 billion euro instalment of Greece's bailout and said details of a second aid package for Athens would be finalised by mid-September.

While the release of the emergency funds may calm nervous investors for now, Greece faces an uphill task in trying to implement the reforms demanded by international lenders which means the euro's path higher will be rocky.

The euro last traded at $1.4552, extending last week's 2.5 percent rally -- its heftiest since January.

The breach of last week's high around $1.4551 triggered more stop-loss buying, traders said, though it remained hemmed inside a broad range established since early May.

Appetite for risky assets like equities and high-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar also received a boost from U.S. data that indicated the world's biggest economy may be recovering strongly from a recent spell of weakness.

The pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing picked up for the first time in four months, with an index of national factory activity rising to 55.3 in June from 53.5 in May, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) data showed on Friday.

Stocks in Asia's developed markets rose with Japan's Nikkei <.N225> rising near the 10,000 level for the first time in two months while Australian stocks <.AXJO> gained 1 percent.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.7 percent, touching its highest level since early June, adding to two consecutive weeks of gains.

U.S. shares rose 5.6 percent last week, its best weekly performance in two years. U.S. markets are shut on Monday for a holiday.

In Thailand, the baht and local shares <.SETI> are set to gain after the clear majority obtained by the Puea Thai party suggested the possibility of post-election instability looked less likely in the short term.

The Australian dollar added to its chunky 2.8 percent gains last week though some resistance around current levels of 1.0785 per dollar is seen. Retail sales data would offer investors clues on whether a August rate hike is likely.

Improved appetite for risk and the end of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policy reduced demand for U.S. Treasury bonds, with yields on 10-year notes settling at 3.18 percent, near its highest in almost two months and adding to a weekly rise of more than 30 basis points.

U.S. crude futures were trading above the $95 per barrel mark, holding on to last week's gains, despite a surprise move by the 28-nation International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of oil reserves.

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