Asia Roundup: Rebound on bargain hunting

HONG KONG: Asian stocks rose yesterday on bargain hunting, with Hong Kong and Shanghai boosted by growth data suggesting China's economy was slowing but remained robust.

But concerns over the eurozone debt crisis continued to dampen sentiment, although the euro made small gains later in the day despite news that Ireland's credit rating had been downgraded to junk status.

Shanghai's composite index was up 40.89 points at 2,795.48.

"It seems that the market is cheering the faster-than-expected economic data as it showed that the country's economic growth momentum remains strong," Capital Securities analyst Jacky Zhang told Dow Jones Newswires.

Banks led gains on hopes for robust earnings growth in the first half.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said the economy grew 9.5 per cent in the April-June quarter, slower than the 9.7 per cent in the previous three months but quicker than the 9.4 per cent forecast by analysts.

Sydney added 0.43 per cent, or 19.4 points, to end at 4,514.8 and Seoul climbed 0.94 per cent, or 19.91 points, to 2,129.64.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index added 37.22 points or 0.37 per cent to 9,963.14. Gains in oil-linked shares offset exporter losses yesterday, said dealers.

While exporters were under pressure, the overall market should avoid big selloffs, said Hideyuki Ishiguro, investment strategy supervisor at Okasan Securities.

In other markets:

* Bangkok rose 1.41 per cent or 15.01 points to close at 1,077.40.

* Taipei ended flat, edging down 2.95 points to 8,488.06.

* Manila rose 1.24 per cent, or 53.91 points, to 4,404.00.

* Jakarta rose 1.09 per cent, or 42.83 points, to 3,980.85.

* Mumbai rose 1 per cent, snapping three consecutive days of losses, on bargain hunting and firm global markets. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index ended up 184.4 points to 18,596.02. - AFP