Asian stocks rose on Friday amid low trading volume, with Chinese shares in Hong Kong jumping over speculation that the government will relax its monetary policy to boost growth and as the region’s two largest markets remained shut for the holidays.
Developers and financial firms surged, with China Vanke Co (萬科) soaring 11 percent and People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd (中國人保控股) advancing 6.6 percent. CSR Corp (中國南車) and China CNR Corp (中國北車) gained at least 16 percent, extending their Wednesday increases after announcing a merger agreement.
Atlas Iron Ltd, a Perth-based iron ore producer that lost 87 percent of its value last year, jumped 39 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index added 0.3 percent to 468.41 as of 7:07pm in Hong Kong on Friday.
Markets in Taiwan, China, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand were closed for holidays. Volume in Sydney and Singapore was about half the 30-day intraday average and trading in Hong Kong was 24 percent lower, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“Volumes are abysmal and we’re not taking much notice of today’s price action,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a telephone interview. “Valuations are not cheap, but are not stretched. We are expecting a volatile ride to play out this year.”
Chinese stocks led gains in Asia last year, with the Shanghai Composite Index soaring 53 percent. Commodities companies posted the largest declines on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which slid 2.5 percent last year. The gauge is priced in US dollars, meaning a strengthening greenback weighs on it.
A Chinese manufacturing gauge last month fell to the lowest level in 18 months, pressuring policymakers to do more to support growth in the world’s No. 2 economy.
The government’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 50.3 in November to 50.1 last month, according to data released on Thursday by the Statistics Bureau of China and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing. That compared with a median estimate of 50 in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.1 percent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms listed in the territory surged 2.2 percent to the highest since August 2011.
Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd (佳兆業集團) failed to pay a HK$400 million (US$51.6 million) loan, raising questions about the Chinese developer’s ability to pay other debts. The company’s shares, which slumped 47 percent last month, are suspended from trade in Hong Kong. Its bonds plunged to record lows.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.2 percent on Friday, Malaysia’s main stock index shed 0.48 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.6 percent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent, with 58 percent fewer shares changing hands than average. Atlas Iron said it is not aware of any undisclosed information affecting its shares and noted rising iron ore prices.
The steelmaking ingredient rebounded for five days through Wednesday, paring its annual slump to 47 percent for last year.
In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose 1.1 percent to 17,585. The underlying gauge closed at 17,450.77 on Tuesday, capping a 7.1 percent gain for the year, and reopens tomorrow.
In other markets on Friday:
Jakarta ended up 0.30 percent, or 15.82 points, from Thursday at 5,242.77.
Mumbai gained 1.38 percent, or 380.36 points, to end at 27,887.90.
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