Asian stock prices followed Wall Street higher Tuesday on encouraging global economic data.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul all advanced. Oil prices advanced again, adding to Monday’s big gains.
Investors were encouraged by manufacturing indicators that showed activity in China and the United States improving. A separate report showed U.S. construction spending increased in February.
Asian markets rose modestly in early trading Tuesday, adding on to Monday’s big gains as encouraging economic data from China tempered fears of a global economic slowdown.
In another hopeful sign, long-term bond yields rose above their recent lows, following a sharp drop last month that flashed a possible recession warning, rattling Wall Street.
The Shanghai Composite index SHCOMP, +0.20% closed up 0.2% to 3,176.82 points while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.02% finished flat at 21,507.11. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, +0.21% rose 0.2% higher at 29,624.67 and Seoul’s Kospi SEU, +0.41% advanced 0.4% to 2,176.45.
Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 XJO, +0.41% added 0.4% to 6,242.70 and India’s Sensex 1, +0.48% as unchanged at 38,872.51. Benchmarks in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia also rose.
“It does appear that the cylinders are firing up once again, or at least in China and the U.S., sustaining risk-on mood for Asia markets,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.
Unexpectedly strong U.S. and Chinese factory data “affirmed the improving manufacturing picture,” said Pan.
Among individual stocks, robotics maker Fanuc 6954, +4.45% gained in Tokyo trading, as did Honda 7267, +1.14% , while SoftBank 9984, -0.64% and Sony 6758, -1.60% fell. In Hong Kong, casino operator Galaxy Entertainment 0027, +4.06% and tech giant Tencent 0700, +0.27% rose, while oil producer CNOOC 0883, -1.61% declined. Samsung 005930, +1.55% rose in Korea, and Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.68% component maker Foxconn 2354, +1.57% advanced in Taiwan. Fortescue Metals FMG, +2.96% and Beach Energy BPT, +1.91% rose in Australia.
On Wall Street, the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPX, +1.16% rose Monday for a third day, advancing 1.2% to 2,867.19.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.27% jumped 1.3% to 26,258.42. The Nasdaq composite COMP, +1.29% climbed 1.3% to 7,828.91.
Financial and technology companies powered the latest rally. Investors tend to favor those sectors when they’re confident the economy will continue growing. Bank of America gained 3.4% and Intel rose 1.5%.
Consumer product makers and utility companies, which are considered safe-play investments, lagged the market. Clorox fell 1.2% and NRG Energy slid 1.7%.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose sharply to 2.47% from 2.41% on Friday. It also rose back above the yield on the three-month Treasury bill.
That reverses an inversion in yields that alarmed investors last month. Such a change has preceded recessions in the past.
Australia’s central bank left rates unchanged but adopted new language in a statement about its latest meeting, suggesting the bank might be shifting toward a bias in favor of easing policy. The Reserve Bank of Australia said it would “monitor developments” and set policy “to support sustainable growth.” That provides “flexibility to cut” in response to upcoming employment data, Chris Weston of Pepperstone said in a report.
Benchmark U.S. crude CLK9, +0.52% gained 18 cents to $61.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $1.45 on Monday to close at $61.59. Brent crude LCOM9, -0.04% , used to price international oils, rose 13 cents to $69.14 per barrel in London. It jumped $1.43 to $69.01 the previous session.
The dollar USDJPY, +0.02% was unchanged at 111.35 yen. The euro EURUSD, -0.1070% declined to $1.1203 from $1.1213.
Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.
