By Daniel Inman
HONG KONG--Asian stocks were higher on Thursday, as an improved
reading on China's manufacturing sector eased some concerns over
the health of the Chinese economy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.5% at 22953.76 and the Hang
Seng China Enterprises Index rose by 1.1% to 10109.57 after HSBC's
China preliminary manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index came out
at 49.7 for May, a sharp increase from a final reading of 48.1 in
April.
Although the measure remains just below 50, indicating
manufacturing is still contracting, the latest number points to
stabilization in activity among China's factories and is the
strongest showing in five months.
In Hong Kong, gas companies were higher after Moscow and Beijing
signed a contract to supply China with hundreds of billions of
Russian natural gas. China Resources Gas Group and China Gas
Holdings--two companies with a strong presence in northeastern
China, where there has been a shortage in supply--rose 3.9% and 6%,
respectively.
Shares in bullet-train maker China CNR Corp. edged 1.9% lower in
debut trading, after the company raised $1.2 billion in an initial
public offering--Hong Kong's first big issuance since the collapse
of a listing by WH Group.
In addition to the manufacturing data, a positive overnight
session in the U.S. also helped Asian stocks. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average enjoyed its largest gain in more than a month on
Wednesday, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting
showed that officials discussed how they would eventually raise
interest rates, but that their outlook hadn't changed enough to
warrant a policy shift.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% to 2015.59, Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 rose 1% to 5479.90, and the Philippines' PSEi was
up 1% at 6830.58. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% to 2021.29.
In Japan, the Nikkei added 2.1% to 14337.79, outperforming the
rest of the region as the market was helped by a softer yen, as the
safe-haven currency weakened in the wake of the Chinese
manufacturing data.
The positive global tone helped the yen soften from the
three-month high it reached against the dollar on Wednesday, a move
brought about by signals from Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda
that further monetary easing is unlikely in the near term. The yen
was last trading at Yen101.57 to the dollar, softer in Asian trade,
and weaker than the Yen100.81 it reached in the previous
session.
Write to Daniel Inman at daniel.inman@wsj.com