Asia shares climb on China PMI data

Asian shares mostly rose on Thursday as data indicated an improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity and minutes from the US Federal Reserve showed officials are considering their policy options after the bank’s stimulus programme ends. Tokyo rallied 2.11 per cent, or 295.62 points, to 14,337.79, Sydney jumped 1.02 pc, or 55.33 points, to 5479.9 and Seoul gained 0.36 pc, or 7.26 points, to 2,015.59. Hong Kong rose 0.51 per cent, or 117.24 points, to 22,953.76 but Shanghai closed 0.18 per cent lower, giving up 0.18 per cent, or 3.66 points, to end at 2,021.29. HSBC said preliminary data from its purchasing managers index (PMI) showed activity in China’s factories declining at a much slower pace in May than in April. In other capital markets: Taipei climbed 1.21 pc, or 107.21 points, to 8,969.63. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 1.24 pc to Tw$122.0 while smartphone maker HTC was 0.62 pc higher at Tw$163.5. Wellington rose 0.40 pc, or 20.27 points, to 5,108.57. Air New Zealand was 1.64 pc higher at NZ$2.17 and Contact Energy added 0.18 pc to N$5.46. Manila rose 1.01 pc, or 68.20 points, to close at 6,830.56. Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.55 pc to 2,900 and Ayala put on 1.32 pc to 654 pesos, according to AFP.