Asian shares climb on weak US and Eurozone growth figures
Asian shares climbed higher overnight everywhere except China as markets benefitted from Friday’s weak growth figures in both the US and the Eurozone.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.4 per cent to hit 16,635, largely unchanged on its level before the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided on Friday to hold back on fresh stimulus.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng surged 1.33 per cent, while the other major index, the Kopsi in South Korea also added 0.7 per cent.
On one measure of non-Japanese stocks, compiled by index MSCI, Asian-Pacific shares are now at their highest level in a year.
Read more: Should the UK cut VAT?
The climb came as investors scrambled around the world in search of growth markets. Figures out on Friday showed the US economy grew just 1.2 per cent on an annualised basis in the third quarter, less than half the rate economists had expected.
Equities inside China slipped, however, as mixed data on the health of the country’s manufacturing sector did little to restore faith in the robustness of the world’s second largest economy.