Stocks in Asia Pacific traded higher on Tuesday morning as China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for March came in better than expected.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher, with the Shanghai composite up about 0.8% while the Shenzhen composite added 0.853%.
China on Tuesday said its official manufacturing PMI for March came in at 52.0, indicating an expansion and defying expectations of a contraction. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the figure to come in at 45 for the month. PMI readings below 50 signify a contraction, while figures above that level indicate an expansion.
In February, the official manufacturing PMI plunged to a record low of 35.7 as the country continued to grapple with containing the coronavirus outbreak as well as returning to work after an extensive lockdown. Investors have been watching economic data releases from China for clues on the scale of the economic impact from the outbreak, which was first reported in the country.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 1.48% higher.
Australian shares led gains among the region's major markets, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 2.79%. The moves came after the index got off to a flying start to the week and surged by 7% on Monday.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi also rose 1.61% while the Kosdaq index gained 3.04%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also gained 1.72% in early trade.
Japan's Nikkei 225 saw more muted gains and added 0.74%, while the Topix index fell into negative territory as it dipped 0.32%.
Oil prices attempted to rebound from the previous day's plunge in the morning of Asian trading hours on Tuesday. International benchmark Brent crude futures gained 1.32% to $23.06 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were also up 3.58% to $20.81 per barrel.
The moves came after oil prices plummeted Monday to levels not seen in almost two decades — Brent fell 8.7% to settle at $22.76 per barrel, a price last seen in 2002. U.S. crude fell 6.6%, or $1.42, to settle at $20.09, its lowest level since February 2002.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.389, below levels above 100 seen last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.63 per dollar after touching an earlier high of 107.72. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6146, still above levels below $0.6 seen last week.
— CNBC's Pippa Stevens and Huileng Tan contributed to this report.
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March 31, 2020 at 09:13AM
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Australia stocks jump nearly 3%; China manufacturing unexpectedly expands in March - CNBC
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