Japanese markets surge on reopening after a holiday

Asian stocks rose overnight, with the regional benchmark index paring last week’s losses, as Japanese markets surged on reopening after a holiday and as investors were unfazed by a drop in Chinese manufacturing activity.

Yanzhou Coal Mining surged 6.6 per cent in Hong Kong after profit beat estimates and the shares were upgraded by Credit Suisse Group. Macquarie Group rose 2.9 per cent after Australia's biggest investment bank said it expects full- year earnings will jump. Yamato Holdings, a parcel delivery company, surged 3.5 per cent in Tokyo on a report it will tie up with China Post Group.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1 per cent to 134.11 as of 3:39 p.m. in Tokyo after dropping 1.2 per cent last week. All 10 industry groups on the gauge advanced. Shares held gains after a preliminary China Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics unexpectedly slid.

“It’s reflecting a slowdown we are seeing globally,” said Andrew Sullivan, director of sales trading at Kim Eng Securities in Hong Kong. “As long as we can see what’s happening with the global economy, it’s not a surprise. Obviously it’s not a positive for the market, but I don’t think it’s a huge negative.”

Japan's Topix index climbed 1.5 per cent after a three-day weekend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.6 per cent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, also known as the H-share index, climbed 2.7 per cent extend its rebound after falling into a bear market last week. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.7 per cent.

The China manufacturing gauge fell to 48.1 in March from 48.5 a month earlier. Numbers below 50 signal contraction. “Weakness is broadly-based with domestic demand softening further,” Qu Hongbin, Hong Kong-based chief China economist at HSBC, said in a statement. “We expect Beijing to launch a series of policy measures to stabilize growth. Likely options include lowering entry barriers for private investment, targeted spending on subways, air-cleaning and public housing, and guiding lending rates lower.”

Bloomberg