The stock indices of the largest countries in the Asia-Pacific region are rising on Thursday, with the exception of the South Korean stock market.
Investor sentiment was supported by the news that the US House of Representatives had overwhelmingly approved a bill on the debt ceiling, as well as strong statistics.
China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), calculated by Caixin Media and S&P Global, rose to 50.9 points in May, up from 49.5 points a month earlier. This came as a surprise to analysts, who had not expected any change in the indicator. The value of the indicator above the 50-point mark indicates an increase in activity in the industrial sector, while below it indicates a decline.
The Chinese Shanghai Composite index by 8:33 a.m. increased by 0.4%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng by 1%.
On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the most significant increase is shown by the shares of Internet companies Meituan, Baidu Inc. and Tencent – by 6.1%, 4.7% and 4.1%, respectively, retailer JD.com Inc. by 5.3%, and oil company PetroChina Co. by 3.2%.
Meanwhile, the securities of developers Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. and Country Garden Holdings are falling in price – by 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.7% by 8:29 a.m. on Thursday.
Among the leaders of the growth of quotations are shares of investment and technology SoftBank Group (+4.7%), electric power Tokyo Electric Power Co. (+3.7%), Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (+3.5%).
Also rising in price are the shares of technology companies Renesas Electronics (+4%) and Advantest Corp. (+0.3%), consumer electronics manufacturer Sony (+0.5%), automotive Toyota Motor (+0.7%), and game console manufacturer Nintendo (+1.7%).
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.3% by 8:29 a.m.
The capitalization of the world’s largest mining company BHP decreased by 0.1%, while the value of rival Rio Tinto increased by a similar amount.
The South Korean Kospi index has fallen by 0.2% since the start of the trading session.
Share prices of one of the world’s largest chip and electronics manufacturers, Samsung Electronics Co. fell by 0.3%, and automaker Hyundai Motor – by 1%.
