Asian shares jump on relief after China GDP, caution stays

Reuters: Asian shares and the Australian dollar jumped on Friday after China’s second-quarter gross domestic product data landed in line with forecasts.

But market relief could be short-lived as Moody’s downgrade of Italy’s credit rating to near-junk status just ahead of a bond auction threatens to reinforce fears over Europe’s debt crisis.

China’s economy grew 7.6 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, the slowest pace since the January-March quarter of 2009, and in line with market expectations for a 7.6 percent rise. It marks the sixth consecutive quarter of slower growth and compared with an annual growth of 8.1 percent in the first three months of 2012.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped as much as 0.8 percent, after slumping 2.2 percent to this month’s low and logging its biggest daily loss in nearly two months on Thursday.

Hong Kong shares extended gains to rise 0.4 percent from 0.1 percent prior to the GDP news while Shanghai shares turned positive, up 0.2 percent from down 0.1 percent before publication of the data.

Shares in Australia, which relies on China as its top trade partner and consumer of resources, advanced further to rise 0.6 percent while the Australian dollar rose as high as $1.0165 from around $1.0135.

Market players were scrutinising the data for clues to the possible pace of Beijing’s future stimulus measures, which will affect sentiment for riskier assets, given huge demand for resources and broad-based goods in the world’s second largest economy.

“People were looking for figures below consensus expectations anyway, so the number won’t change the situation that much,” said Guy Stear, head of research with Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

“What you read into these numbers is that we need more policy support.”

Until China implemented more stimulus measures to underpin growth, Chinese equities markets were likely to stay pressured, he said.