Asian stocks mostly higher on US, China growth

Asian stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday on improved US and Chinese economic activities. The regional heavyweight, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, gained 0.5 per cent to 15,406.03 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1 per cent to 23,409.33 and Taipei, Seoul and Sydney also gained. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.2 per cent at 2,046.25. Traders were encouraged by surveys showing China’s manufacturing activity improved in June for the first time in six months. That came on top of the government’s decision to expand credit by allowing banks to lend more relative to the size of their deposits. Both developments ‘bode well for growth,’ said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk in a report. In the United States, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity grew in June, though at a slower pace than in May, according to a news agency.