(MENAFN– ecpulse)
Asian stocks advanced on Friday paring the regional benchmark index’s first weekly drop since June on strong global manufacturing reports while central banks vowed to maintain stimulus.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.2% to 135.15 as of 15:22 in Tokyo
The ISM manufacturing accelerated last month in the US by the fastest pace in two years while European factories ended the two years of output declines, suggesting recession may be near its end.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their interest rates at record lows on Thursday, while ECB’s Mario Draghi said interest rates will probably remain low for an extended period.
Draghi’s comments came only one day after the US Federal Reserve said the economy still needs support and showed no signs of reducing its $85 billion-a-month bond buying program any time soon.
Investors are now awaiting today’s key US jobs report that will help gauge the outlook for recover in the world’s largest economy. The US probably added 185,000 in July and the jobless rate probably fell to 7.5%.
In Japan stocks rose more than 3% reaching the highest since last Thursday as the dollar/yen pair is testing the 100-mark on the back of positive earnings and data. Mitsubishi posted a 15% rise in net profit while Sony posted profits after last year’s loss.
- Nikkei 225 closed 3.29% higher at 14466.16
- Topix closed 2.82% higher at 1196.17
In China the benchmark index hit an eight-day high at 2,045 points as property stocks rallied for a fourth-straight session as sentiment rose on the back of Thursday`s manufacturing PMI numbers which rose more than expected to 50.3.
- China’s CSI 300 Index closed 0.08% higher at 2247.26
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.46% higher at 22190.97
In Australia, stocks managed to hold onto its two-and-a-half-month high even after the government cut its economic growth and revenue forecasts as the outlook for global recovery improved following the strong global manufacturing data.
- The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.09% higher at 5116.76
- New Zealand’s NZX 50 closed 0.82% higher at 4582.89
In South Korea the benchmark index rose on Friday hitting its highest level since June 7. Hyundai rose earlier in the day on news US sales rose in July while Samsung rose on news the decision on whether some Samsung devices infringed Apple’s patents was delayed.
- Kospi closed 0.14% higher at 1923.38
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