BEIJING: Chinese stocks rose with copper as an official manufacturing gauge showed a third month of expansion. The euro slid on concern about the impasse between Greece and its creditors, while oil and crops fell.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.8 percent by 11:51 a.m. local time, extending its advance after people familiar with the matter said policy makers are considering doubling the size of a clean-up program for shaky local government finances. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent, paring an earlier 0.9 percent decline. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent following the measure’s retreat Friday. The euro weakened 0.3 percent against the dollar and the Korean won slid. Brent oil snapped a two-day surge as data showed Saudi Arabia maintained record output. Corn futures lost 0.5 percent.
China’s official factory gauge climbed last month, suggesting monetary easing and relaxation of fiscal rules have helped cushion the economy. The final reading of a private measure rose from the preliminary estimate, while still signaling a contraction. Greece faces a week of tough decisions as creditors show no signs of budging over what it will take to seal an accord. Unexpectedly weak U.S. economic data Friday stoked speculation a first-quarter slowdown may be lingering.
China’s “stock market has consolidated and is likely to grow at a slower pace rather than just straight up,” said Wang Zheng, the Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management Co. “The stabilization of the economy indicated by the PMI data has also helped the sentiment.”
