Asian stocks advance amid strong Australian GDP, rise in Chinese manufacturing

Asia shares rise on China, Australia economic news

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets gained Wednesday after Australia’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in three years and Chinese manufacturing growth picked up for the first time in four months.

The two indicators are a break from a stream of weak economic readings from the U.S. to Japan that sent stock markets into a funk the past month as investors fretted about a slowing global recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average added 80.25 points, or 0.9 percent, to 8,904.31 after hitting a 16-month closing low the previous day. But the yen’s sustained strength, which erodes profits for Japan’s mainstay exporters, kept trading cautious.

Leading the region’s gains was Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index, which jumped 1.9 percent to 4,486.60.

Investors cheered new figures showing that the nation’s gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent in the April-June quarter as demand from China and elsewhere in Asia boosted exports of iron ore and other commodities.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent to 20,617.65, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.2 percent to 1,764.29, and mainland China’s benchmark Shanghai index edged up 0.1 percent to 2,642.38.

In China, manufacturing growth posted the first gain in four months. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 July and 52.1 in June. Numbers above 50 show manufacturing activity expanding.

“The rise in the PMI for August shows that China’s economy will not suffer a serious correction,” the report said, citing federation analyst Zhang Liqun.

“China PMI came out better than expected,” said Mark Tan, who helps manage the equivalent of about $11.1 billion of equities and bonds at UOB Asset Management in Singapore.

He said the manufacturing numbers probably helped to stabilize markets. “China drives the Asian market now rather than the U.S. market.”

In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average edged up 4.99, or 0.05 percent, to close at 10,014.72. Stocks gave up most of their gains in mid-afternoon after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials’ increasing concern about the U.S. economy.

Broader indexes were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.41, or 0.04 percent, to 1,049.33. The Nasdaq composite index fell 5.94, or 0.3 percent, to 2,114.03.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 84.36 yen from 84.03 yen late Tuesday in New York. The euro gain to $1.2701 from $1.2684.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 33 cents at $72.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.78 to settle at $71.92 a barrel on Tuesday.

Associated Press Writer Tomoko A. Hosaka in Tokyo contributed to this report.