Asian markets lifted by US data; Hong Kong outperforms

A string of upbeat data from the United States and a rally on Wall Street boosted Asian markets on Friday, while growing confidence in the global outlook saw dealers sell the safe-haven yen.

The latest statistics from Washington follow data out of Asia earlier Thursday that showed manufacturing slowly picking up, with China seeming to have come to the end of its recent malaise.

Tokyo jumped 1.31 per cent by the break, Hong Kong climbed 1.23 per cent, Sydney gained 0.17 per cent, and Seoul rose 1.06 per cent, but Shanghai was off 0.10 per cent after surging on Thursday.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1074541/asian-markets-lifted-us-data-hong-kong-outperforms