Asian Stocks Climb to January High as China, Japan Shares Rally
- Materials, financial shares lead gains among industry groups
- Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo indexes advance more than 3%
Asian stocks rose toward the highest level in almost two months as Japanese equities jumped on a weaker yen and speculation that China will announce measures to boost growth at legislative meetings this week spurred a rally for Shanghai shares.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.8 percent to 123.29 as of 5:07 p.m. in Tokyo, with materials and financial companies leading gains. Japan’s Topix index jumped 3.7 percent after the yen slid for a second day and U.S. data signaled manufacturing in the world’s largest economy may be stabilizing. Faster-than-forecast economic growth lifted Australian equities. The Shanghai Composite Index surged the most in four months. The Asia Pacific gauge has jumped 9.1 percent from this year’s low on Feb. 12., led by commodity shares.