Upbeat US economic data underpins most markets in Asia

04 Jan 2012 Evaluate

Cheering reports on global manufacturing activity boosted investors’ morale across Asia at the start of trade on Wednesday as most markets got off to an encouraging opening. However, some benchmarks from China, Hong Kong and South Korea have failed to capitalize on the initial momentum and have pared the gains to slip into the red territory. Nonetheless, most markets in the region traded on a positive note with notable gains on the back of unexpectedly better economic reports from the world’s largest economy the US and Europe’s biggest economy - Germany. The pace of growth in US’ manufacturing sector was the fastest in six months in December while hiring in factories there too picked up, boosting hopes that the US economy was gaining momentum at the end of last year. The US fed also has projected that the pace of growth in world’s biggest economy will pick up gradually in 2012 and 2013.

Markets in Indonesia traded with enthusiasm and surged around one and half a percent in the session while the Japanese markets opening after an extended New Year’s holiday too rallied sharply higher. However, the optimism petered out in China and Hong Kong after the Chinese Premier opined that China faces relatively difficult business conditions.

Jakarta Composite surged 57.85 points or 1.50% to 3,915.74, Nikkei 225 soared 118.14 points or 1.40% to 8,573.49, Straits Times advanced 13.28 points or 0.49% to 2,701.64 and Taiwan Weighted gained 25.24 points or 0.36% to 7,078.62.

On the flipside, Shanghai Composite slipped 4.75 points or 0.22% to 2,194.67, Hang Seng shed 54.73 points or 0.29% to 18,822.68 and Seoul Composite eased 0.70 points or 0.04% to 1,874.71.

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