Asian stocks higher on Wall Street lead

New upbeat US economic growth data boosted sentiment.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Asian stocks ended the weak on a positive note today (August 28th) after the release of upbeat US economic data.

The US economy grew significantly more than first estimated in the second quarter of the year, expanding at an annual rate of 3.7 per cent instead of an initial report of 2.3 per cent on July 30th.

The upward revision was mainly due to higher investment, government spending, and consumer spending than was previously reported. Exports also fared better, and inventories were higher than the Commerce Department had initially estimated.

The data boosted sentiment after a week of turmoil on markets due to fears that the Chinese economy is slowing.

Markets in the region took their lead from Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 2.3 per cent to 16,654.77 and the S&P 500 index gaining 2.4 per cent to 1,987.66. The Nasdaq composite rose 2.5 per cent to 4,812.71.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared three per cent to 19,136.32, the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China gained 3.6 per cent to 3,195.15 and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.5 per cent to 1,937.67. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 per cent to 21,952.90 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.6 per cent to 5,263.60.

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