Asian stocks rose, posting their longest winning streak in six weeks, as information-technology companies advanced and investors assessed conflicting manufacturing data from China.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 removed 35.84 points, or 0.2%, to 14,791.99
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong spiked 297.48 points, or 1.3%, to 22,448.54
Hermes Microvision Inc. surged 7% in Taipei, leading gains among information-technology stocks. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. gained 4.6% in Hong Kong as investors welcomed the developer’s dividend and full-year earnings beat estimates.
Sands China Ltd. and Galaxy Entertainment Group led gains in Hong Kong as a report showed Macau casino revenue rose 13% in March from a year earlier.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co. slumped 10% in Tokyo on a report the Development Bank of Japan Inc. will inject 50 billion yen ($484 million U.S.) into the utility.
Japan’s sales tax increased to 8% from 5% today. The Tankan index of sentiment among large manufacturers was at 17 in March, climbing from 16 in December, a Bank of Japan report showed, below the median estimate of 19 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The index is forecast to drop to 8 in June, worse than economists’ forecast of 13. The yen weakened 0.1% against the U.S. dollar after dropping 0.4% yesterday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost ground as the nation’s central bank kept its overnight cash rate target at a record-low 2.5%.
Prana Biotechnology Ltd. plunged 74% to 27.5 Australian cents after the biotechnology company’s experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease failed to help patients in a trial.
CHINA
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 regained 16.81 points, or 0.8%, to 2,163.12
A private Chinese purchasing managers’ index fell to 48 in March, the lowest reading since July, from 48.5, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Ltd. said today. The official gauge from the government, with a larger sample size, came in at 50.3 from 50.2 the previous month.
The Chinese reports underscore what Premier Li Keqiang last week called “difficulties and risks” in the world’s second-largest economy as he tries to control surging debt and pollution shrouding cities across China. Li said the nation has policies in reserve to support growth after the cabinet said it would accelerate construction spending.
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex added 23.87 points, or 0.3%, to 8,873.15
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 9.90 points, or 0.3%, to 3,198.52
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 6.37 points, or 0.3%, to 1,991.98
The New Zealand Exchange 50 index fell 17.46 points, or 0.3%, to 5,122.52
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dumped 5.66 points, or 0.1%, to 5,389.17
