BEIJING: Shares in greater China Wednesday rose on an upbeat services PMI for April in China that gave optimism on domestic-led demand.
The Shanghai Composite rose 1.27% just before the break, while the Hang Seng index gained 0.85%. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.46% as retail sales disappointed.
In China, second to India in gold purchases, the April HSBC services PMI rose to 52.9, a four-month high. The PMI was at 52.3 in March.
“The latest set of PMI data indicated that Chinese service-sector companies had a strong start to Q2 with activity and new orders both rising solidly in April. However, a downturn in manufacturing operating conditions led to a weaker expansion of overall business activity in April with composite output rising at the slowest rate in three months,” Markit economist Annabel Fiddes said.
