An elderly man watches the share market prices at the Australian Stock Exchange. Sydney stocks closed up 0.20% at 5587.8 points yesterday.
AFP/Tokyo
Asian markets mostly rose yesterday as an index of Chinese manufacturing activity hit an 18-month high in July, boosting hopes for the world’s number two economy, as concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased.
The euro fell to fresh multi-month lows against the dollar and yen as investors fretted over the impact of sanctions on Russia over its links to rebels in Ukraine who have been blamed with shooting down a Malaysian airliner.
Shanghai rallied 1.28%, or 26.57 points, to 2,105.06 and Hong Kong jumped 0.71%, or 169.63 points, to 24,141.50.
Sydney recorded its seventh straight gain, rising 0.20%, or 11.1 points, to close at 5587.8.
But Tokyo slipped 0.29%, or 44.14 points, to 15,284.42 and Seoul ended marginally lower, dipping 1.70 points to end at 2,026.62.
In other markets, Taipei rose 0.30%, or 28.18 points, to 9,527.54; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co added 0.4% to Tw$125.0 while smartphone maker HTC fell 0.35% to Tw$141.0.
Wellington gained 0.55%, or 28.18 points, to 5,174.71; Fletcher Building was up 0.88% at NZ$9.15 and Telecom advanced 1.03% to NZ$2.93.
Manila ended marginally lower, dipping 3.03 points to 6,889.89; Metropolitan Bank and Trust fell 1.36% to 87.30 pesos while Alliance Global Group dropped 1.11% to 26.70 pesos.
Jakarta ended up 0.11%, or 5.41 points, at 5,098.64; state-controlled miner Aneka Tambang gained 11.45% to 1,265 rupiah, while retailer Hero Supermarket slipped 4.03% to 2,855 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur gained 0.28%, or 5.22 points, to 1,877.05; British American Tobacco ended 1.9% higher at 69.84 ringgit while Malaysia Airports Holdings shares lost 6.2% to 7.60 ringgit.
Singapore rose 0.39%, or 13.19 points, to 3,353.89; Singapore Telecom finished at Sg$4.0, up 0.25%, and farm commodities supplier Olam International climbed 1.6% to end at Sg$2.57.
Bangkok added 0.15% or 2.36 points to 1,543.92; coal producer Banpu gained 4.76% to 33baht, while Thai Tap Water soared 5.83% to 12.70 baht.
Banking giant HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers index of manufacturing activity for this month jumped to 52.0 from a final reading of 50.7 in June.
The result suggests a recent slate of small stimulus measures by the government is gaining traction.
Anything above 50 points to growth and a number below suggests contraction in the Asian economic giant and key driver of regional and global growth.
“Economic activity continues to improve in July, suggesting that the cumulative impact of mini-stimulus measures introduced earlier is still filtering through,” HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said in a statement.
“We expect policy makers to maintain their accommodative stance over the next few months to consolidate the recovery.” The news helped support an uptrend in markets as they recover from Friday’s losses that were fuelled by the downing of MH17 in Ukraine.
The tragedy, which killed almost 300 people, has been blamed by the the US on pro-Russian rebels fighting the Ukraine government, raising the prospect of an international crisis.
Those fears eased on Tuesday when the militants, who had swarmed the crash site, handed over the black box recorders and allowed the bodies of the victims to be moved.
However, Moscow still faces strict economic sanctions for its support of the rebels, in turn stoking concerns for the eurozone economy, which relies heavily on Russian energy imports, and hitting the euro.
The single currency fell to an eight-month low $1.3445 in afternoon Tokyo trade and a five-month low of 136.45 yen.
