Asia stocks up in New Year trade

Asia stocks up in New Year trade

European stocks rise

HONG KONG — Asian markets started 2015 on an upswing in limited trading on Friday, with mainland Chinese stocks surging in Hong Kong on speculation Beijing may ease monetary policy to boost slowing growth.

Shin Je Yoon, chairman of South Korea's Financial Services Commission, not pictured, holds the nose ring of a bull during a ceremony marking the first day of trading of the year at the Korea Exchange in Seoul on Friday. (Bloomberg photo)

Hong Kong rose 1.07%, closing 252.78 points higher at 23857.82.

Seoul closed up 0.57%, rising 10.85 points to 1,926.44, while Sydney gained 0.46%, or 24.89 points, to close at 5,435.9.

Singapore edged up 0.19%, gaining 6.39 points to 3,371.54.

Markets in mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand remained closed for holidays.

In Europe, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.52% to 6,600.36 points compared with the close on Wednesday.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.66% to 9,870.22 points and the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.5% to 4,294.05.

Europe's main indices, which shut Thursday, had steadied overall in 2014 compared with the previous year as companies balanced sluggish regional growth alongside low inflation and interest rates.

With mainland bourses shut until Jan 5, shares in Chinese developers and financial companies surged in Hong Kong, stoked by hopes that Beijing could ease monetary policy to support lagging growth in the world's second-largest economy.

China Vanke, the country's biggest developer by sales, leapt 10.8% and the People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd was up 5.51% in afternoon trading.

Train-builders CSR Corp and China CNR Corp soared -- CSR by 16.5 and China CNR by 16% -- extending gains on Dec 31 after they announced a merger agreement.

China's manufacturing growth dropped in December to its lowest level of 2014, an official survey showed Thursday, as the sector struggles with weak domestic demand.

China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in at 50.1 last month, down from 50.3 recorded in November.

The index, which tracks activity in factories and workshops, is considered a key indicator of the health of China's economy, a major driver of global growth. A figure above 50 signals expansion, while anything below indicates contraction.

"Growth momentum is still insufficient," NBS said in a statement.

On forex markets the dollar extended gains ahead of the release of American factory data due later on Friday and following a steady stream of good news from the world's biggest economy.

The dollar bought 120.44 yen, compared to 119.44 yen in final 2014 trading on Wednesday.

Wall Street toasted a banner year in 2014, with US equity markets finishing near all-time highs.

The euro meanwhile slipped amid growing expectations that the European Central Bank, which meets on Jan 22, will start buying sovereign bonds. The single currency bought $1.2061 compared to $1.2160 in pre-holiday trade.

The ECB has already used several tools to push inflation in member nations back up to the 2 annual rate it regards as healthy, including asset purchases and making cheap loans available to banks.

It is also examining the possibility of large-scale purchases of sovereign debt -- so-called quantitative easing (QE) -- to help jump-start the European Union's moribund economy.

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