Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Monday, with Chinese stocks rallying to a two-month high, after a slew of encouraging reports on industrial output, retail sales, fixed asset investment and bank lending released over the weekend pointed to a more stable outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
China's Shanghai Composite index soared 2.4 percent to its highest level since June 19, lifted by cyclical stocks such as banks, property developers and coal miners. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.1 percent to 22,271, its biggest single-day gain since July 23. Gains elsewhere in Asia were capped to some extent after Japanese GDP data for the second quarter missed estimates.
Japan's Nikkei index fell 0.7 percent to a fresh one-and-a-half month low, with sentiment hit by disappointing GDP data and a weaker dollar. The broader Topix index shed 0.6 percent. Japan's gross domestic product added just 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said in its preliminary report, missing forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent. On a yearly basis, GDP grew 2.6 percent - well shy of expectations for 3.6 percent expansion.
A separate gauge of corporate goods released by the Bank of Japan saw the index rising 0.5 percent in July compared to the previous month, while industrial output declined 3.1 percent in June from a month ago.
Property developer Sumitomo Realty & Development plunged over 6 percent, Mitsui Fudosan tumbled 3.6 percent and Mitsubishi Estate lost 2.6 percent despite data showing a 31.6 percent increase in condominium offerings in the Tokyo metropolitan area for July. Tokyo Electric Power slipped 0.6 percent after the company said it has detected radioactive tritium in groundwater collected from a barrier built well near the sea at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Heavyweight SoftBank dropped 4 percent and Fast Retailing declined 1.1 percent, while Bridgestone advanced 2.8 percent after reporting double-digit growth in sales and earnings for the six months ended June. Citizen Holdings' shares soared nearly 17 percent after the watch and device maker boosted its profit outlook for the fiscal year ending next March. China-related Hitachi Construction Machinery jumped 5.4 percent and Komatsu added 4.4 percent.
Australian shares rallied, led by gains in miners on signs of stabilization in China's economy. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent to 5,109. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gained 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, while smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group climbed 7.5 percent. Gold miner Newcrest soared 7.9 percent despite the company reporting a loss for the year ended June, hurt by hefty impairments and write-downs resulting from the slump in gold prices as well as lower revenues.
Among major banks, Commonwealth rose 1.3 percent ahead of its full-year results due on Wednesday, while NAB, Westpac and ANZ gained between 0.4 percent and 1.1 percent. JB Hi-Fi rallied 3.2 percent after the electronics retailer reported a net profit of $116.4 million for the 2012-13 financial year, up over 11 percent from last year. GPT Group shares added half a percent despite the property trust reporting a 6.7 percent drop in its half-year net profit.
South Korea's Kospi average closed 0.2 percent higher in relatively thin trading, led by gains in steel stocks. POSCO and Hyundai Steel rose about 2 percent each following improved Chinese economic data released over the weekend.
New Zealand shares fell to a one-month low, weighed down by disappointing economic data. The benchmark NZX-50 slipped 0.3 percent to 4,522, with Fletcher Building shares falling 1.7 percent to $8.24 on a brokerage downgrade as a report from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand showed New Zealand's house prices declined in July from a month earlier. The REINZ stratified housing price index fell 0.5 percent compared to June.
Separately, food prices in New Zealand rose for a fourth month in July on the back of higher prices for vegetables, cheese and bread, Statistics New Zealand reported. The food price index added 0.5 percent following a 2.1 percent jump in June. Among other prominent decliners, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Contact Energy and Mighty River dropped 1-2 percent. Freightways rose 2 percent after the courier data and management company met its full-year profit guidance issued last month.
Elsewhere, India's Sensex was up 1.3 percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was gaining 0.3 percent, Singapore's Straits Times was marginally higher and the Taiwan Weighted average gained 0.6 percent, while Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down 0.9 percent.
Singapore's economy posted strong growth in the second quarter of 2013 on the back of robust growth in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, and finance and insurance sectors, revised government data showed. GDP expanded 15.5 percent compared to the previous three months following the downwardly revised 1.7 percent increase in the first quarter. GDP grew 3.8 percent on an annual basis.
U.S. stocks fell on Friday reflecting uncertainty about when the Fed will start its massive bond-buying program. The Dow slid half a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.4 percent.
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