Asia markets rise as private survey shows sharp recovery in China services

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Friday, following Wall Street’s gains overnight after Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said he’s “firmly” in favor of sticking with quarter-point hikes.

China’s services sector saw a jump in activity, according to the Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing manager’s index, with a reading of 55 in February from 52.9 in January.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.78% in its final hour of trade, while the Hang Seng Tech index gained 2.21%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component gained marginally to close at 11,851.91 and the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.54% to end Friday at 3,328.39.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.56% to finish at 27,927.47, leading gains in the region and the Topix climbed 1.25% to end at 2,019.52 as inflation in Japan’s capital showed easing in February from the previous month.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39% to end at 7,283.6. The South Korean Kospi advanced 0.17% to close at 2,432.07, with the Kosdaq finishing 1.93% up at 802.42.

Overnight in the US, stocks were initially under pressure as the trading day started, but rallied in the afternoon after Bostic’s remarks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led gains among the major U.S. indexes, rising 1.05%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed 0.76% and 0.73% higher respectively.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/03/asia-markets-us-federal-reserve-australia-japan-china-india-.html