ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Mostly Higher After China Data Deluge

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 were roughly in line with analyst 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 the estimates.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index stretched its gain to 1.1% after the reports, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index -- which tracks mainland Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong -- also picked up 1.1%. The Shanghai Composite Index extended its rise to 0.6% from 0.1%.

Japanese shares, however, returned to losses, pulling the Nikkei Stock Average down 0.1%, though South Korea's Kospi logged a 0.3% rise.

Australian stocks, as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 , closed up by 0.7%.

The Australian dollar (AUDUSD) bounced up after the data, buying as much as 96.30 U.S. cents compared with 96.11 U.S. cents ahead of the reports. The spike, however, was short-lived as the Aussie drifted back down to 96.09 U.S. cents. 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 8.9% 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 5.3%, and Wynn Macau Ltd. (WYNMY) jumped 6.6% .

Also, shares of AIA Group Ltd.'s (AAGIY) leapt 42% after the insurer's new business value rose to a record high during the third quarter.

But shares of Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGF) fell 3.1% following a report in The Wall Street Journal that the PC maker is considering a bid for beleaguered mobile-phone maker BlackBerry Ltd. (RIMM) .

Japan's blue-chip exporters dragged after an overnight rise in the yen, with industrial major Komatsu Ltd. (KMTUF) off by 1%, and steel mill JFE Holdings Inc. (5411.TO) slumping 3.2%.

In Sydney, oil producer Santos Ltd. (SSLTY) fell 0.9% after posting a drop in third-quarter output and placing its full-year production outlook at the low end of its previous guidance.

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