Global Markets: Asian shares rebound, easy policies feed risk taking
Asian shares rebounded strongly on Tuesday after a sharp sell-off triggered by slumping Chinese stocks the previous session, as a globally accommodative monetary stance helped revive risk appetite.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 1 percent after tumbling 1.3 percent as Chinese shares dived on concerns Beijing's move to tighten the housing market could weigh on growth.
The February HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.1 from January's 54.0, after seasonal adjustments, in line with slower factory activity that suggests a modest rebound in the world's second-biggest economy this year.
Outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday in remarks prepared for the opening of China's annual parliament meetings that Beijing would boost fiscal spending in 2013 in a bid to deliver economic growth of 7.5 percent for the year.
"The Chinese economy will decelerate from the second quarter, but the slowdown is not significant enough to derail the economic recovery," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist for non-Japan Asia at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, adding that Monday's sell-off in Chinese shares was "justifiable" because markets tend to move ahead of growth direction.
"As property curbs are expanded, real estate construction may well slow to the point of adding additional downward pressure on the economy. However, the 7.5 percent growth target announced today is safe," he said.
Australian stocks outperformed their Asian peers with a 1.5 percent rally, led by financial stocks ahead of an interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia at 0330 GMT, while
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