AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets rose Monday as investors cheered data showing a surprise jump in Chinese factory activity, while oil prices bounced from last week’s sharp losses after Iraq said top producers could announce a cut in output this week.
But while the week started on a positive note, worries about trade were revived by China’s Global Times newspaper saying Beijing wanted all US tariffs rolled back as part of a mini deal, a move observers said Washington is unlikely to agree to.
China said on Saturday that its manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in seven months, providing a much-needed boost to investors looking for signs of optimism in the world’s number-two economy.
Another survey Monday of smaller firms also showed a better-than-expected pick-up in factory activity.
The news comes as Beijing and Washington put the final touches to a partial trade deal, the expected passage of which has helped global markets rally for weeks.
“This improvement in the manufacturing (purchasing managers index) is important because we can say with more certainty than at the beginning of the year that China’s macro outlook is indeed stabilising,” Aninda Mitra, senior sovereign analyst at BNY Mellon Investment Management, told Bloomberg News.
Asian markets rose Monday as investors cheered data showing a surprise jump in Chinese factory activity, while oil prices bounced from last week’s sharp losses after Iraq said top producers could announce a cut in output this week.
But while the week started on a positive note, worries about trade were revived by China’s Global Times newspaper saying Beijing wanted all US tariffs rolled back as part of a mini deal, a move observers said Washington is unlikely to agree to.
China said on Saturday that its manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in seven months, providing a much-needed boost to investors looking for signs of optimism in the world’s number-two economy.
Another survey Monday of smaller firms also showed a better-than-expected pick-up in factory activity.
The news comes as Beijing and Washington put the final touches to a partial trade deal, the expected passage of which has helped global markets rally for weeks.
“This improvement in the manufacturing (purchasing managers index) is important because we can say with more certainty than at the beginning of the year that China’s macro outlook is indeed stabilising,” Aninda Mitra, senior sovereign analyst at BNY Mellon Investment Management, told Bloomberg News.
