- Asian stocks cheer upbeat China Caixin Services PMI.
- The dollar remained bid despite the risk-on action in stocks.
Asian stocks advanced on Thursday after key data showed China’s service sector expanded for the fourth consecutive month in August.
Stocks in Australia and Japan rose 1% while those in South Korea jumped 1.3%. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3%, while the futures tied to the S&P 500 remained flat.
While Caixin’s China Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 54.00 in August from 54.1 in July, the actual figure stayed well above 50, indicating expansion. The actual print also bettered the estimate of 50 by a significant margin.
Both private and government Manufacturing PMIs released earlier this week also painted a positive picture of the world’s second-largest economy.
However, while the upbeat China Services PMI lifted stocks, it failed to weaken the safe-haven greenback. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s value against majors, rose 0.18% to 92.82. The index printed a 29-month low of 91.75 earlier this week.
The US stocks moved higher on Wednesday, but gains were led by defensive sectors such as utilities.
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