Asian stocks came off their lows Thursday as a surprise improvement in Chinese manufacturing helped cheer investors after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last meeting signaled the central bank was on course to pare bond purchases this year.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 59.16 points, or 0.4%, to 13,365.17
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered 77.67 points, or 0.4%, to 21,895.40
Chinese banks rose to lead the rebound in Hong Kong, with Bank of China Ltd. rising 1.8% and heavyweight China Construction Bank Corp. climbing 2.5%.
The three benchmarks in Japan, Korea and Australia had suffered steeper losses earlier in the day, tracking a lower finish on Wall Street. Minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed Wednesday that central-bank officials had agreed the U.S. economy will pick up later this year, allowing the Fed to taper its $85-billion-U.S.-a-month in bond purchases before the end of the year.
The officials didn’t say exactly when they would reduce the size of the Fed’s stimulus — a key tailwind for global markets — and market participants differed in their opinions.
CHINA
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 shed 4.66 points, or 0.2%, to 2,303.93, after preliminary data from HSBC showed China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a four-month high of 50.1 in August, implying an expansion in activity. HSBC’s final reading for July had put China’s manufacturing PMI at 47.7, an 11-month low.
Deutsche Bank on Thursday lifted its forecast for China’s economic growth in the second half of 2013 to 7.7% from 7.6%, after the HSBC PMI data.
In other markets;
The Taiex Index in Taiwan returned from holiday to lose 18.27 points, or 0.2%, to 7,814.38
Korea’s Kospi Index dipped 18.34 points, or 1%, to 1,849.12
The Singapore Straits Times Index gave back 19.59 points, or 0.6%, to 3,098.40
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index docked 21.65 points, or 0.5%, to 4,529.86
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 eased 24.24 points, or 0.5%, to 5,075.75
