Japanese stocks made their biggest gain in a month on Tuesday, and Chinese stocks bounced back from a selloff, after data showed China’s economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index zoomed 352.01 points, or 2.1%, to 17,366.30, its strongest daily percentage gain since Dec. 19.
The yen dropped against the greenback, with a U.S. dollar buying ¥118.32 compared with ¥117.57 late Monday in North America.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jumped 212.67 points, or 0.9%, to 23,951.16
In other Asian markets, Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index gained, with index heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. up 2.2%. The electronics giant is considering splitting its stock, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday.
CHINA
Meanwhile, Chinese stocks recovered after a heavy selloff Monday.
The Shanghai CS300 index regained 41.07 points, or 1.2%, to 3,396.22,
The previous decline came after securities regulators said it had punished brokerage firms for violations of margin-trading rules, seen as a clampdown on the business.
But on Tuesday, comments from a China Securities Regulatory Commission spokesman gave the markets a lift. He said the punishments meted over margin-trading practices were intended to protect investors’ rights, rather than to dampen the market.
Earlier in the day, official data showed China’s gross domestic product grew 7.3% in the October-to-December quarter. That was steady on the third quarter and just above a consensus forecast of 7.2% from separate Wall Street Journal and Reuters surveys.
In other markets;
The Kospi in Korea took on 15.69 points, or 0.8%, to 1,918.31
In Taiwan, the Taiex index added 77.63 points, or 0.9%, to 9,251.69
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 26.32 points, or 0.8%, to 3,334.02
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index moved lower 4.92 points, or 0.1%, to 5,633.22
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.47 points to 5,307.67
