* China manufacturing gathers pace in September-PMI survey
* Euro pauses below five-month high, Asian stocks rise
* Oil above $80 boosted by hopes of demand recovery
By Sanjeev Miglani
SINGAPORE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday as
stronger-than expected economic indicators from China and the
United States boosted confidence in the global economic
recovery.
European shares also rose, after slipping in the previous
four sessions amid debt concerns in the euro zone. The
FTSEurofirst 300 <> rose 0.2 percent, Britain's FTSE 100
<> gained 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent and
France's CAC 40 <> was up 0.3 percent. [] []
Chinese manufacturing gathered momentum last month, handily
beating market forecasts and providing further evidence that
the economy is pulling smoothly out of a second-quarter
slowdown.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.34 percent compared with a rise of
0.24 before the release of China's Purchasing Managers Index.
The index gained more than 17 percent in the last quarter.
"This looks like the real deal. It's not just inventory
correction. We think that end demand is picking up in China and
the economy has stabilised after the summer lull," said
Frederick Neuman, co-head Asian economics, HSBC in Hong Kong.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
China PMI: http://link.reuters.com/gaw58n
Japan CPI: http://link.reuters.com/peb46p
Asia PMI: http://link.reuters.com/fef46p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Japan's Nikkei <> average closed up 0.37 percent on
Friday, helped by short-covering after sharp falls the previous
day and after U.S. economic data provided a degree of optimism.
The index gained 6.2 percent in September, it is more than
2 percent off the peak hit after Japanese authorities conducted
currency market intervention on Sept. 15 to weaken the yen.
[]
"Japanese stocks are recouping some ground as investors
appear to be correcting extreme pessimism triggered yesterday
by the yen's advance and worries about European finance
problems," said Koichi Nosaka, a market analyst at Securities
Japan Inc.
DATA WATCH
U.S. data on Thursday showed new jobless benefits fell last
week and regional manufacturing grew faster than expected.
Later on Friday, the Institute for Supply Management is
scheduled to release U.S. manufacturing data.
U.S. Treasury prices slipped as investors turned to stocks
and the dollar held steady after dropping to an eight-month low
against a basket of currencies the previous day. []
The euro <EUR=> paused below a five-month high on the
dollar hit the previous day, helped by data showing euro zone
banks are relying less on funds from the European Central bank.
[]
The dollar dipped 0.1 percent to 83.47 yen <JPY=>, but
stayed above the previous day's low at 83.16 yen and last
month's 15-year trough below 83.00 that had prompted Japanese
authorities to intervene for the first time in six years.
The Australian dollar <AUD=> jumped on optimism that the
strong data from China augured well for the country's resource
exports.
Oil rose above $80 on Friday, staying at a seven-week
high, as the renewed momentum in China's manufacturing sector
pointed to stronger demand. Copper also advanced on hopes of
greater Chinese demand. [] []
But gold, widely seen as a safe haven, also ticked up,
hovering within sight of a lifetime high, although traders said
the improving data from China and the U.S. could curb gains.
Traders said spot gold <XAU=>, which stood at $1,310.40 an
ounce after hitting a record around $1,315 the previous day,
remained volatile as investors watched for signs of a firmer
U.S. recovery. []
"I guess speculation will still be rife as to the state of
the U.S. economy. The need or not for a QE2 (second round of
quantitative easing) from the Fed," said Darren Heathcote, head
of trading at Investec Australia in Sydney.
(Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper and Aiko Hayashi in
TOKYO; Editing by Alex Richardson)
