Asia markets rise as China factory activity expands at fastest pace in nearly two years

Asia-Pacific stock markets rose Monday after a private survey showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in nearly two years. The Caixin survey showed manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 in May from 51.4 the previous month, at its fastest pace since June 2022. It was also higher than a Reuters poll forecast of 51.5. The private survey comes after official data on Friday that showed China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.32%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.14%. Investors will also focus on India markets as exit polls over the weekend suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance was set for a rare third consecutive term in power. Stock gauges in India hit intraday record highs, with the Nifty 50 index rising 2.6% and the S&P BSE Sensex Total Return index last up about 2.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 1.17% higher, while the broader Topix index gained nearly 1%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.76%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.92%, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq was 0.38% higher. Wall Street futures were calm ahead of the first trading day in June, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures up 25 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1%. The main indexes are coming off a strong May, with all three notching their sixth positive month in seven. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.9%, its best month since November 2023.