Shares in China led gains among major markets in the region as they surged on Thursday, after a private survey showed manufacturing activity in country rising in December.
The Hang Seng index rebounded 353.77 points, or 1.3%, to close the year’s first session at 28,543.52, with shares of life insurer AIA surging 3.2%. Shares of gaming hardware maker Razer soared more than 9% after the company announced on Thursday it has a submitted its application for a Singapore digital bank license.
South Korea’s Kospi lagged the general upward trend regionally as it fell, with shares of automaker Hyundai Motor dropping 2.1%.
Data released Wednesday showed the South Korea’s exports falling less than expected in December.
South Korea’s exports for that month declined 5.2% in December as compared to a year earlier. That was lower than median expectations of a 6.0% fall from a previous poll.
Markets in Japan and New Zealand remained shuttered for holiday.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 55.66 points, or 1.4%, to 4,152.24
The Markit/Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing in the month of December came in 51.5, versus 51.8 in November.
Still, that was below expectations by analysts in a poll of a reading of 51.7 for December. The 50 mark separates expansion in contraction in PMI readings.
That came after the official manufacturing PMI released Tuesday came in slightly above expectations.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 103.34 points, or 0.9%, to 12,100.48
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 22.5 points, or 1%, to 2,175.17
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index rocketed 29.17 points, or 0.9%, to 3,252
In Australia, the ASX 200 inched higher 6.48 points, or 0.1%, to 6,690.58
