(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, erasing earlier losses as mining shares rallied on gains in metal prices and China's official factory gauge started 2017 on a robust note. India's equity benchmark advanced more than 1 percent as the government eased its deficit targets, offered tax cuts and higher spending to cushion the economy.
About five stocks rose for every three that declined on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index as six of 11 industry groups advanced, paced by material and utilities companies. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index was at 51.3 in January, exceeding the median of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. China's markets are closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
“China and India are giving positive signs at a time that investors are trying to evaluate what Trump wants to do and his impact on the different markets," said Lexter Azurin, head of research at Unicapital Securities Inc. Amid the uncertainties, President Trump's “growth agenda will increase infrastructure spending and that is seen to boost demand for metals."
India's milk producers and dairy stocks rose as the budget included a proposal to set up an 80 billion rupee ($1.2 billion) fund for dairy processing infrastructure while housing developers climbed on a proposal to extend affordable housing program to five years.
Japanese stocks rose, reversing early declines, as investors focused on corporate profits and the yen retreated from gains spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's remark Tuesday that Japan and China “play the money market.”
Summary
- MXAP +0.1% as of 4:55 p.m. in Hong Kong; gained 4.9% in January, best start to a year since 2012
- Materials shares +1.1%; Shanghai steel rebar futures +1.5%; LME 3-month nickel +0.7%
- BHP Billiton +1.7%; Vale Indonesia +5.9%
- Topix +0.4%, Nikkei 225 +0.6% in Tokyo
- Yen -0.6% at 113.46 per dollar, trimming 2% two-day gain
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index +0.6%; New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index little changed
- Hang Seng Index -0.2%, HSCEI -0.5% in Hong Kong, after two-day holiday
- India's Sensex +1.5%
- Prabhat Dairy +2.5%, Heritage Foods +2.5%; Godrej Properties +4.6%, Ashiana Housing +20%
- South Korea's Kospi +0.6%
- Taiwan's Taiex +0.3%
- Philippine Stock Exchange Index closed little changed
- Jakarta Composite Index +0.8%
- Thailand's SET index -0.3%
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China's Factory PMI Shows Stabilization Carried into New YearTo contact the reporter on this story: Ian Sayson in Manila at isayson@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Annells, Margo Towie
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