Asian stocks rebounded from a two-month low on Wednesday as data showing China’s manufacturing activity in February expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade cheered investors, ofsetting fears over rising interest rates.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 52.6 last month against 50.1 in January, based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics, smashing expectations as production zoomed after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions late last year.
China’s non-manufacturing activity similarly grew at a faster pace in February, while data from the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI also pointed to a rise in factory activity in February for the first time in seven months.
That sent MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) surging more than 1% to 516.84, after having bottomed at 509.40 – its lowest since early January – earlier in the session.
Chinese stocks also received a boost, with China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index (.CSI300) jumping more than 1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC) was last about 0.6% higher.
This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.
