By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Hong Kong and much of the
rest of Asia held to gains Friday following a batch of economic
data from China that roughly matched expectations.
The Chinese government said third-quarter gross domestic product
climbed 7.8% from a year earlier, meeting projections in separate
Reuters and Dow Jones Newswires surveys of economists. Growth in
retail sales slightly trailed the consensus forecast, while that
for industrial production slightly exceeded estimates.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed with a 1.1% gain, rising
245.22 points to 23,340.10. The Shanghai Composite Index finished
up 0.2%, rising by 5.24 points to 2,193.78.
Japanese shares, however, closed lower, pulling the Nikkei Stock
Average down 0.2%, or 24.97 points, to 14,561.54. But South Korea's
Kospi logged a 0.6% rise, adding 11.79 points to 2,052.40.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.7%, or 38.40 points, to
5,321.50.
The Australian dollar (AUDUSD) bounced up after the Chinese
data. Australia is often sensitive to the economic outlook of its
top export market.
Some of China's third-quarter GDP growth was supported through
temporary state spending, which is highly unlikely to continue into
2014, TD Securities said in a note Friday.
"Nevertheless, we hold to our view that sustainable Chinese
growth, even at lower levels, remains supportive for the Australian
dollar, as urbanization and social housing construction requires
Australia's close proximity and high-quality commodities. We target
7.6% GDP growth for 2013."
The Chinese government is aiming for economic expansion of at
least 7.5% this year.
The Chinese economic figures also included 10.2% growth in
September industrial output, compared with an above-forecast 10.4%
in August, and slightly exceeding a 10.1% consensus estimate from a
Dow Jones Newswires survey. September retail sales eased to a 13.3%
annual growth rate, after a 13.4% increase in the previous month.
The result trailed a 13.5% estimate from the Dow Jones Newswires
poll.
In Hong Kong, casino stocks rallied, with Sands China Ltd.
surging 9.2% after the Macau subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
(LVS) posted a 43% rise in third-quarter net revenue to $2.34
billion. Its rivals also benefited, as MGM China Holdings Ltd.
(2282.HK) climbed 4.2%, and Wynn Macau Ltd. (WYNMY) jumped
4.3%.
Also, shares of AIA Group Ltd.'s (AAGIY) added 4.4% after the
insurer's new business value rose to a record high during the third
quarter.
But shares of Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGF) fell 1.7% following a
report in The Wall Street Journal that the PC maker is considering
a bid for beleaguered smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. (RIMM).
Japan's blue-chip exporters fell after an overnight rise in the
yen, with industrial major Komatsu Ltd. (KMTUF) down 1.1% and steel
mill JFE Holdings Inc. (5411.TO) down 2.8%.
In Sydney, oil producer Santos Ltd. (SSLTY) fell 0.9% after it
posted a drop in third-quarter output and placed its full-year
production outlook at the low end of its previous guidance.
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