This morning, stock prices on Asian markets rose sharply due to indicators suggesting that the Chinese economy could soon recover, as well as investor hopes that the U.S. Congress will implement measures to stimulate the economy.
The Japanese Nikkei index jumped 2.7 percent this morning, while in Hong Kong around 7:30 AM, stock prices were up more than 2.5 percent. On the exchanges in China and South Korea, leading indices rose between 1 and 2 percent, while a somewhat milder increase in stock prices was recorded in Singapore and Taiwan. Thanks to this, around 7:30 AM, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks, excluding Japan, was up 1.3 percent. Investors on Asian markets were primarily encouraged this morning by the data on the increase in orders in China, which heralds a recovery of the local economy, whose growth rate has been declining in recent months. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose in January from 41.2 to 45.3 points.
Although it is still below the level of 50 points, which indicates a weakening of economic activity, it is encouraging that both domestic and foreign orders for Chinese industry have increased, analysts say. Thanks to hopes for an acceleration in the growth of the Chinese economy, stock prices in the shipping and construction sectors rose the most on Asian markets this morning. The significant rise in stock prices on Wall Street yesterday also positively impacted the market, attributed to investor hopes that the U.S. Congress will soon adopt measures to stimulate the world’s largest economy. Moreover, investors were not deterred by the data showing a 37 percent drop in car sales in the U.S. in January, to an annual level of 9.57 million vehicles, the lowest sales level since 1982. General Motors recorded a 49 percent drop in sales, Ford 40 percent, and Chrysler 55 percent. Japanese manufacturers fared slightly better. Toyota’s sales fell by 34 percent, Nissan by 30 percent, and Honda by 28 percent.
