Asian shares rise after Wall St rally, strong housing data

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Tuesday, cheered by a rally on Wally Street reflecting some optimism over stronger than expected economic data, despite widening coronavirus outbreaks.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to finish at 22,288.14. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2% to 2,117.58, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.4% to 5,897.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up nearly 0.1% to 24,318.54. The Shanghai Composite was trading at 2,977.29, up 0.5%.

Analysts say questions remain on how the global economy will hold up as coronavirus outbreaks expand. Japan’s economy has been gradually reopening with social distancing restrictions.

“These will be important questions to answer as equity markets hang in a delicate balance at present,” Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG, said in a commentary.

A survey of China factory managers released Tuesday was better than expected, suggesting the global economy may be on the upswing after bottoming out at the height of shutdowns in April-May, analysts said.

Increases in production and new orders, especially export orders, points to a rebound in foreign demand, though it remains much weaker than overall new orders, said Martin Rasmussen, an economist at Capital Economics.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index for June was 50.9, higher than forecast, on a scale where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. The non-manufacturing was 54.4, compared with an expected 53.6.

On Wall Street, the market rallied after a much healthier than expected report on the housing market put investors in a buying mood. Technology, industrial and communications stocks accounted for much of the market's broad gains. European stocks also closed higher. Treasury yields were mixed and oil prices rose.

The pickup in U.S....