ASIA MARKETS: Japan Stocks Climb To One-week High On Rising China PMI

By Laura He, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japan stocks rallied to one-week high on Tuesday, after Chinese manufacturing data showed the first improvement in six months.

The Nikkei Average climbed 1.1% to 15,326.20, its highest settlement since Wednesday last week. It was the second consecutive day of gains for the index, which rose 0.4% on Monday to cap its biggest monthly advance in six months.

The broader Topix index also gained 1.1%, while the yen (USDJPY) dropped to Yen101.519 from Yen101.324 in the prior session. The Hong Kong market was closed for a holiday.

On the same day, two separate reports on China's manufacturing sector suggested a rebound, with HSBC's final read on the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index showing its first improvement this year. The Chinese government's version of the PMI edged up to 51 from May's 50.8.

In Japan markets, stocks posted gains across the board. Semiconductor maker NEC Corp. jumped 5%, optics manufacturer Olympus Corp. climbed 3.2%, industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp. rose 2.3%, and Toyota Motor and Sony Corp. each added 1.4%.

In other Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite Index added just 0.1% to close at 2,050.38.

However, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 finished down 0.4% at 5,375.90, weighed by financial stocks, while the Australian dollar (AUDUSD) strengthened against the dollar, rising to 94.55 U.S. cents from 94.34 U.S. cents in the previous day.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Composite index ended Tuesday's trading in the negative territory, falling 0.2% to 1,999.0.

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