A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Asian markets mostly rose Thursday as an index of Chinese manufacturing activity hit an 18-month high in July, boosting hopes for the world’s No. 2 economy, as concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased. AP PHOTO/EUGENE HOSHIKO
HONG KONG–Asian markets mostly rose Thursday as an index of Chinese manufacturing activity hit an 18-month high in July, boosting hopes for the world’s No. 2 economy, as concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased.
The euro fell to fresh multi-month lows against the dollar and yen as investors fretted over the impact of sanctions on Russia over its links to rebels in Ukraine who have been blamed with shooting down a Malaysian airliner.
Shanghai rallied 1.28 percent, or 26.57 points, to 2,105.06 and Hong Kong jumped 0.71 percent, or 169.63 points, to 24,141.50.
Sydney recorded its seventh straight gain, rising 0.20 percent, or 11.1 points, to close at 5587.8.
But Tokyo slipped 0.29 percent, or 44.14 points, to 15,284.42 and Seoul ended marginally lower, dipping 1.70 points to end at 2,026.62.
Banking giant HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers index of manufacturing activity for this month jumped to 52.0 from a final reading of 50.7 in June.
The result suggests a recent slate of small stimulus measures by the government is gaining traction.
Anything above 50 points to growth and a number below suggests contraction in the Asian economic giant and key driver of regional and global growth.
“Economic activity continues to improve in July, suggesting that the cumulative impact of mini-stimulus measures introduced earlier is still filtering through,” HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said in a statement.
“We expect policy makers to maintain their accommodative stance over the next few months to consolidate the recovery.”
Euro suffers fresh selling
The news helped support an uptrend in markets as they recover from Friday’s losses that were fueled by the downing of MH17 in Ukraine.
The tragedy, which killed almost 300 people, has been blamed by the United States on pro-Russian rebels fighting the Ukraine government, raising the prospect of an international crisis.
Those fears eased on Tuesday when the militants, who had swarmed the crash site, handed over the black box recorders and allowed the bodies of the victims to be moved.
However, Moscow still faces strict economic sanctions for its support of the rebels, in turn stoking concerns for the eurozone economy, which relies heavily on Russian energy imports, and hitting the euro.
The single currency fell to an eight-month low $1.3445 in afternoon Tokyo trade and a five-month low of 136.45 yen. That compares with $1.3462 and 136.62 yen late in New York.
The dollar was at 101.45 yen against 101.48 yen in New York.
Wall Street provided a mixed lead, with the S&P 500 edging up 0.18 percent to a new record thanks to a jump in Apple but the Dow dropped 0.16 percent, hit by a hefty fall in Boeing. The Nasdaq rose 0.40 percent.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September was down 39 cents at $102.73 a barrel in the afternoon. Brent crude eased 32 cents to $107.71.
Gold fetched $1,298.30 an ounce by 1307 GMT compared with $1,307.17 late Wednesday.
In other markets:
— Taipei rose 0.30 percent, or 28.18 points, to 9,527.54.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. added 0.4 percent to Tw$125.0 while smartphone maker HTC fell 0.35 percent to Tw$141.0.
— Wellington gained 0.55 percent, or 28.18 points, to 5,174.71.
Fletcher Building was up 0.88 percent at NZ$9.15 and Telecom advanced 1.03 percent to NZ$2.93.
— Manila ended marginally lower, dipping 3.03 points to 6,889.89.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust fell 1.36 percent to 87.30 pesos while Alliance Global Group dropped 1.11 percent to 26.70 pesos.
— Jakarta ended up 0.11 percent, or 5.41 points, at 5,098.64.
State-controlled miner Aneka Tambang gained 11.45 percent to 1,265 rupiah, while retailer Hero Supermarket slipped 4.03 percent to 2,855 rupiah.
— Kuala Lumpur gained 0.28 percent, or 5.22 points, to 1,877.05.
British American Tobacco ended 1.9 percent higher at 69.84 ringgit while Malaysia Airports Holdings shares lost 6.2 percent to 7.60 ringgit.
— Singapore rose 0.39 percent, or 13.19 points, to 3,353.89.
Singapore Telecom finished at Sg$4.0, up 0.25 percent, and farm commodities supplier Olam International climbed 1.6 percent to end at Sg$2.57.
— Bangkok added 0.15 percent, or 2.36 points, to 1,543.92.
Coal producer Banpu gained 4.76 percent to 33 baht, while Thai Tap Water soared 5.83 percent to 12.70 baht.
— Mumbai rose 0.48 percent, or 124.52 points, to 26,271.85.
Financial Technologies India gained 10 percent to 365.75 rupees and UCO Bank added 5.83 percent to 107.95 rupees.