TOKYO: Shares in Asia are higher after China and Japan reported stronger than expected factory data. Many markets in the region were closed Monday for national holidays. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.1 per cent to 20,376.90 and the S&P ASX/200 jumped 1.1 per cent to 5,743.40. Shares in Singapore and Taiwan also gained. Markets in Hong Kong, China and South Korea were closed for national holidays. The market ended the quarter on a four-day winning streak that began after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank plans to continue to raising interest rates. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.4 per cent to 2,519.36 and the Dow Jones industrial average eked out a 0.1 per cent gain to 22,405.09. The Nasdaq composite jumped 0.7 per cent to 6,495.96. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at all-time highs.
The Bank of Japan’s quarterly “tankan” survey showed an improved outlook for the world’s third-largest economy. The survey of leading manufacturers indicated growing shortages of factory capacity that could compel companies to invest more, helping to drive growth. Another, private sector survey, the Nikkei purchasing managers’ index, likewise showed manufacturers increasing output to meet a rise in new orders. Market reaction was muted, however, given other uncertainties such as the North Korean situation and a snap election planned for Oct. 22. “The real question may be how the economic environment evolves with regards to snap elections and lingering geo-politics involving a nuclear-armed North Korea. The upshot is that after six successive quarters of growth, corporate Japan is still going strong, but politics and geo-politics may inadvertently be bugbears,” Mizuho Bank, Ltd. said in a commentary.
An official survey released Saturday said that China’s factory activity expanded in September at the fastest pace in five years, as the country’s vital manufacturing sector stepped up production to meet strong demand. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.4 in September, up from 51.7 in the previous month and the highest level since April 2012. The report by the Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said production, new export orders and overall new orders grew at a faster pace for the month. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 12 cents to $51.55 a barrel. It rose 11 cents to $51.67 a barrel Friday in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, shed 21 cents to $56.58 a barrel. U.S. crude oil rose 12 per cent in the third quarter, which helped energy companies do better than the rest of the market.
