Asian stocks rise on low volume with China, Japan closed

Asian stocks rose on low trading volume with the region's two largest markets shut for holidays. Chinese shares in Hong Kong jumped amid speculation the government will relax monetary policy to boost growth. Developers and financial firms surged, with China Vanke Co. surging 11 percent and People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd. advancing 6.6 percent. CSR Corp. and China CNR Corp. soared at least 16 percent, extending their Dec. 31 increase after announcing a merger agreement. Atlas Iron Ltd., a Perth-based iron ore producer that lost 87 percent of its value last year, jumped 39 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index added 0.4 percent to 468.91 as of 4:24 p.m. in Hong Kong. Markets in China, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand are closed for holidays. Volume in Sydney and Singapore was about half the 30-day intraday average and trading in Hong Kong was 24 percent lower, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"Volumes are abysmal and we're not taking much notice of today's price action," Michael McCarthy, Sydney-based chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a phone interview. "Valuations are not cheap but are not stretched. We are expecting a volatile ride to play out this year."

Chinese stocks led gains in Asia in 2014, with the Shanghai Composite Index soaring 53 percent. Commodity companies posted the largest declines on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which slid 2.5 percent last year. It's priced in U.S. dollars, meaning a strengthening greenback weighs on the measure. A Chinese manufacturing gauge slipped to the lowest level in 18 months, adding pressure on policy makers to do more to support growth in the world's second-biggest economy.

The government's Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.1 in December from 50.3 in November, according to data released yesterday by the statistics bureau and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing. That compared with a median estimate of 50 in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.1 percent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms listed in the city surged 2.2 percent to the highest since August 2011. Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. failed to pay a HK$400 million ($51.6 million) loan, raising questions about the Chinese developer's ability to pay other debts. The company's shares, which slumped 47 percent last month, are suspended from trade in Hong Kong. Its bonds plunged to record lows.

Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.1 percent today and South Korea's Kospi index advanced 0.6 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent with 58 percent fewer shares changing hands than average. Atlas Iron said it's not aware of any undisclosed information affecting its shares, and noted rising iron ore prices. The steelmaking ingredient rebounded for five days through Dec. 31, paring its 2014 slump to 47 percent. Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose 1 percent to 17,570. The underlying gauge closed at 17,450.77 on Dec. 30, capping a 7.1 percent gain for the year, and reopens on Jan. 5. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.5 percent, building on a year in which the U.S. equities gauge soared to unprecedented highs and extended the bull market rally past 200 percent.