Asia Markets: China stocks jump after data, lifting Asia

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) ? Asian stock markets rose Monday after data showed China?s economy grew in line with expectations in the second quarter, belying some fears of a sharper slowdown.

The Shanghai Composite /quotes/zigman/1859015 CN:SHCOMP +1.23% ?fronted the region?s stock advances, climbing 1.6% after data from the National Bureau of Statistics put the quarterly gross domestic product growth at 7.5%.

Other economic data released Monday also eased worries, with June retail sales, in particular, rising a better-than-expected 13.3%.

The GDP growth figure ? although weaker than the 7.7% expansion recorded in the first quarter ? matched expectations in separate surveys of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters.

It also followed a period of intense debate over the growth trajectory, as analysts worried that the Chinese economy may face more headwinds as Beijing refrained from providing additional fiscal or monetary stimulus.

China?s economic data prompt a relief rally in Shanghai, boosting other markets.

?The deceleration is a result of reduced domestic investment and a weak global environment. Further deceleration is possible if reforms and stimulus measures are delayed,? said Moody?s Analytics economist Alaistair Chan.

The gains in Shanghai also came after China?s Xinhua news service ? which had late last week cited Finance Minister Lou Jiwei as tipping 7% growth for 2013 ? corrected its story over the weekend. The report said the minister had actually indicated the economy would expand 7.5% this year, in line with the government?s official target.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index /quotes/zigman/2622475 HK:HSI +0.11% ?rose 0.4%, while Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO +0.29% ?and South Korea?s Kospi /quotes/zigman/1652118 KR:SEU -0.21% ?each added 0.3%, with all three of them erasing earlier losses in the wake of the Chinese data.

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

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?After all the conjecture over the weekend, the latest batch of Chinese economic data was largely in line with economist forecasts,? said CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian.

?The good news is that retail sales lifted for the fifth consecutive month, and while not at heady 15%-plus growth rates seen a year ago, it still provides a degree of encouragement,? Sebastian said.

Several Chinese banks rallied to lead the rebound in Shanghai. China Citic Bank Corp. /quotes/zigman/1875236 CN:601998 +4.80% /quotes/zigman/36931/quotes/nls/chbjf CHBJF -8.00% climbed 6.7%, more than tripling its gains before the GDP data were released, while Bank of Communications Co. /quotes/zigman/1875309 CN:601328 +2.55% /quotes/zigman/527616/quotes/nls/bcmxy BCMXY +0.52% , or BoCom, rose 2.8%.

Chinese banks also fared well in Hong Kong, with China Construction Bank Corp. /quotes/zigman/35073 HK:939 +0.74% ? /quotes/zigman/529424/quotes/nls/cichy CICHY -2.58% ?rising 1.1%, and BoCom /quotes/zigman/34374 HK:3328 +0.80% ?adding 1.2%.

The banking-led advance also followed data released by the ?People?s Bank of China after the market close on Friday showing a slowdown in June in total social financing ? the broadest measure of bank loans and bond issuances ? from the May level.

Meanwhile, China?s statistics bureau said Monday that the non-performing loan ratio at the country?s commercial banks sat at 1%, up slightly from 0.9% in the first half of 2012 but still relatively low.

Meanwhile, the stock performance in Asia followed a third straight week of gains for U.S. equities, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/627449 DJIA +0.02% ?and the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO +0.29% ended at record highs Friday.

Major miners in Australia erased their losses after the Chinese economic data to aid the market?s recovery. BHP Billiton Ltd. /quotes/zigman/180893 AU:BHP +0.36% /quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp BHP -1.80% ?and Rio Tinto Ltd. were both marginally higher after dropping earlier in the day.

Also supporting the market, the recently battered shares of surfwear maker Billabong International Ltd. /quotes/zigman/264916 AU:BBG +13.04% ? /quotes/zigman/264915/quotes/nls/bllaf BLLAF 0.00% extended Friday?s rebound, climbing a further 6.5%.

/quotes/zigman/1859015

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 65.12M

July 15, 2013 1:18p

/quotes/zigman/2622475

HK : HangSeng Ind

Volume: 0.00

July 15, 2013 1:18p

/quotes/zigman/1653884

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 0.00

July 15, 2013 3:12p

/quotes/zigman/1652118

KR : S. Korea: KRX

Volume: 260.75M

July 15, 2013 2:13p

/quotes/zigman/1875236

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 38.69M

July 15, 2013 1:18p

Market Cap

?161.79 billion

/quotes/zigman/36931/quotes/nls/chbjf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 2,800

July 2, 2013 9:35a

/quotes/zigman/1875309

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 62.88M

July 15, 2013 1:18p

Market Cap

?292.35 billion

/quotes/zigman/527616/quotes/nls/bcmxy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 200.00

Feb. 19, 2013 4:41p

/quotes/zigman/35073

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 118.30M

July 15, 2013 1:18p

Market Cap

HK$1362.20 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.58M

/quotes/zigman/529424/quotes/nls/cichy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 47,820

July 12, 2013 3:59p

/quotes/zigman/34374

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 9.04M

July 15, 2013 1:17p

Market Cap

HK$369.55 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$3.55M

/quotes/zigman/627449

US : DJ-Index

Volume: 130.14M

July 12, 2013 4:34p

/quotes/zigman/1653884

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 0.00

July 15, 2013 3:12p

/quotes/zigman/180893

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 4.74M

July 15, 2013 3:11p

Market Cap

$106.98 billion

/quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 2.87M

July 12, 2013 4:02p

/quotes/zigman/264916

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 6.56M

July 15, 2013 3:10p

Market Cap

$110.16 million

/quotes/zigman/264915/quotes/nls/bllaf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 50,000

July 12, 2013 3:49p

Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau. Follow him on Twitter @MktwKumar.

Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/wHmqdmZc6cI/story.asp

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