Asian equities soar on upbeat Chinese data

Nikkei: 8,733.01 (+104.88) Hang Seng: 19,875.53 (+399.66) Shanghai Comp: 2,554.02 (+38

Nikkei: 8,733.01 (+104.88) Hang Seng: 19,875.53 (+399.66) Shanghai Comp: 2,554.02 (+38.16):ASIAN STOCKS surged to their best daily performance for more than five months yesterday, as Chinese manufacturing data restored some confidence to the markets.

The easing of interest rate concerns had an immediate impact on Chinese developer stocks.

China Vanke, the nation’s biggest developer, climbed 1.7 per cent to Rmb8.22 while rival Poly Real Estate rose 2.5 per cent to Rmb10.86.

Resource stocks also benefited,with Jiangxi Copper, the nation’s largest producer of the red metal, adding 2.2 per cent to Rmb31.89 while Sinopec, the nation’s largest refiner, rose 2.4 per cent to Rmb7.15.

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Seoul’s Kospi index provided the day’s biggest gain among the region’s benchmarks.

Investors piled back into stocks deemed oversold, with SK Innovation, the country’s leading refiner, surging 11.4 per cent to Won147,000.

Sydney’s SP/ASX 200 index gained 2.2 per cent as miner BHP Billiton gained 1.8 per cent to A$38.21 on Chinese growth optimism. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)