Canberra (dpa-AFX) – Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Monday, as a slew of strong economic data from China helped offset investor concerns about inflation.
Investors awaited speeches by a number of Federal Reserve officials this week for additional clues on interest rates and monetary policy going forward.
Chinese shares ended slightly lower as investors waited for the virtual summit of the leaders of the US and China set for this week. US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will exchange views on bilateral and international issues during the virtual meeting.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slipped 5.80 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 3,533.30, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 62.94 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 25,390.91.
Industrial production in China was up 3.5 per cent year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said – exceeding estimates for 3.0 per cent and up from 3.1 per cent in September.
The bureau also said that retail sales jumped an annual 4.9 per cent – again beating expectations for 3.5 per cent and up from 4.4 per cent in the previous month.
Fixed asset investment increased an annual 6.1 per cent and the jobless rate came in unchanged at 4.9 per cent last month, while the house price index was up 3.4 per cent, slowing from 3.8 per cent in the previous month.
Japanese shares advanced as data showed the country’s economy contracted much faster than expected in the third quarter, ramping up expectations for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s stimulus package.
The Nikkei average gained 166.83 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 29,776.80, while the broader Topix index closed 0.39 per cent higher at 2,048.52.
Technology investor SoftBank Group climbed 2.2 per cent and medical services platform M3 rallied 3.3 per cent. Restaurant chain Skylark Holdings soared 6.5 per cent after raising its annual net profit forecast.
Australian markets rose as Chinese economic data surprised on the high side. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 27.10 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 7,470.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 32.40 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 7,798.20.
Health care and technology stocks topped the gainers list while banks declined amid fears about high inflation and interest-rate increases. Drug developer Mesoblast surged as much as 11.8 per cent after announcing a positive phase three trial result of its stroke medicine.
Seoul stocks rallied amid foreign and institutional buying. The Kospi average jumped 30.72 points, or 1.03 per cent, to close just shy of the 3,000-point mark as investors scrutinized better-than-expected data from China.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 1.1 per cent, No 2 chipmaker SK Hynix soared 4.2 per cent and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 3.7 per cent.
New Zealand shares eked out modest gains, with the benchmark NZX-50 index finishing up 56.31 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 12,964.46. A2 Milk climbed 4.5 per cent on bargain hunting, after having fallen 7 per cent last week.
Similarly, Pushpay Holdings rose 3.4 per cent after losing more than 20 per cent last week. Investors shrugged off the results of a survey showing that the services sector in New Zealand contracted at a faster pace in October.
US stocks advanced on Friday despite worries about accelerating inflation and downbeat data showing an unexpected deterioration in US consumer sentiment in November. The Dow rose half a per cent to end higher for the first time in four sessions, while the S&P 500 added 0.7 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1 per cent.