Il Nuovo Postiglione - Asian stocks rise after strong China production data

NYSE - LSE

CMSD	-0.34%	20.69	$
CMSC	-0.53%	20.81	$
BCE	-0.59%	23.67	$
BTI	-1.12%	55.35	$
RIO	0.42%	103.27	$
BCC	2.64%	79.21	$
GSK	-1.96%	49.89	$
JRI	-0.58%	12.14	$
NGG	-0.06%	78.12	$
BP	0.52%	43.81	$
RBGPF	0%	70	$
RYCEF	0.7%	19.92	$
VOD	1.89%	16.9	$
RELX	-3.21%	35.51	$
AZN	-1.27%	162.7	$

Asian stocks rise after strong China production data

ECONOMY 18.03.2024

Asian stocks rise after strong China production data / Photo: Kazuhiro NOGI - AFP

Asian stocks gained on Monday after China posted stronger than expected industrial production data in a fragile recovery for the world's second-largest economy.

Text size:

Investors also have their eyes on a Bank of Japan decision on Tuesday, with policymakers expected to finally ditch the bank's negative interest rate.

Shanghai closed up 1.0 percent and Hong Kong added 0.2 percent after Beijing released industrial production and fixed-asset investment figures called "surprisingly spritely" by Harry Murphy Cruise of Moody's Analytics.

"China's economy had a stronger start to the year than expected," he told AFP, but warned that "we should take the latest data with a grain of salt".

"Today's prints are inflated by this year's bigger Lunar New Year celebrations compared to those last year marred by rapidly rising Covid-19 cases," Cruise said.

China's industrial production was up 7.0 percent year-on-year in January and February, beating the 6.8 percent rise in December and the 5.2 percent predicted by Bloomberg.

Household consumption was sluggish, reflecting an uneven recovery for the Chinese economy.

"Headwinds still remain: real estate investment continues to be a drag, deflation's reversal is likely only fleeting and export's outlook is clouded by geopolitical tensions and still-high global interest rates," Cruise said.

- Eyes on Bank of Japan -

Taipei rose 1.0 percent, Seoul gained 0.7 percent and Manila added 0.4 percent.

Bangkok, Sydney and Jakarta were also up but Wellington slid 0.3 percent and Singapore was down 0.1 percent.

A slew of central bank policy decisions is due this week, including the US Federal Reserve, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.

But only one is expected to make a major move -- the Bank of Japan, which wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

Tokyo closed 2.7 percent higher on Monday after the influential Nikkei business daily reported that the BoJ plans to raise interest rates for the first time since 2007.

Strong wins for workers in annual pay negotiations have also pointed to the bank ending its outlier negative rate policy designed to boost the flagging economy.

Tom Kenny, senior international economist at ANZ, said that even if it does raise rates, guidance from the BoJ's governor Kazuo Ueda "is likely to be dovish".

"He has previously said that policy will remain accommodative after the removal of the (negative interest rate policy) and has ruled out the possibility of successive rate hikes," Kenny said.

Dampened hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts led Wall Street to close lower on Friday, and now "all eyes are on whether the Fed will adjust its rate hike outlook for 2024", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

"Uncertainty around this pivotal event may temper market activity in the coming days," he said.

- Key figures around 0700 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 39,740.44 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 16,760.09

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,084.93 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.21 yen from 149.08 yen on Friday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0896 from $1.0891

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2740 from $1.2737

Euro/pound: UP at 85.52 pence from 85.48 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $81.46 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $85.72 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 38,714.77 points (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,727.42 (close)

F.M.Buffo--INP

Featured

Bangladesh measles toll nears grim 1,000-child mark

Bangladesh's deadliest measles outbreak in decades is nearing the grim milestone of 1,000 child deaths, as a devastating epidemic sweeps through the country and crowded hospital wards fill with struggling babies.

Bolivia farmers return to streets over diesel price hikes

Several hundred coca farmers and supporters of former Bolivian president Evo Morales demonstrated in the central city of Cochabamba on Friday over the government's doubling of diesel prices, AFP reporters said.

S&P Revises Outlook on Freedom Holding Corp. and Core Subsidiaries to Positive

S&P Global Ratings has revised the outlook on the long-term credit ratings of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp. and its four core operating subsidiaries from “stable” to “positive,” while affirming their international credit ratings.

Moody’s Assigns First-Time Insurance Financial Strength Ratings to Freedom Insurance and Freedom Life

Moody’s Ratings has assigned insurance financial strength ratings to two Freedom Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: FRHC) insurance subsidiaries for the first time. Freedom Finance Insurance JSC, operating as Freedom Insurance, received Ba1 local- and foreign-currency insurance financial strength ratings, while Freedom Life JSC received Baa3 ratings. Both carry stable outlooks.