国际英语新闻：Asia shares close firm on upbeat data

BEIJING, Feb. 5 -- Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday, with Tokyo's index up nearly 3 percent, as better-than-expected news about the U.S. and Chinese economies raised hopes the global downturn was nearing a bottom.

    The region's upward swing followed Wall Street, where investors breathed a little easier after a surprise jump in home sales in December suggested the battered housing market might soon stabilize.

    Investors also were heartened by Wednesday's report pointing to possible recovery in Chinese manufacturing. While manufacturing shrank again in January, the contraction was less severe than in recent months and seen by some as a sign China's stimulus measures might be taking hold.

    But with the global economy and company results still in dire shape, the move higher was likely to be temporary, analysts cautioned. Amid the hopeful signs was more downbeat news yesterday about corporate bellwethers such as Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd.

    "It's a fictitious rebound. The figures are better than we thought, but they're still bad," said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers in Hong Kong. "It's encouraging of course, but it's far too early to say we're seeing a revival in the global economy."

    Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 213.43 points, or 2.7 percent, to 8038.94, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 287, or 2.3 percent, to 13063.89. South Korea's Kospi was up 2.8 percent at 1195.37.

    In Shanghai, the main index gained 2.3 percent to 2107.75 as traders welcomed news the purchasing managers index, a key gauge of manufacturing activity, rose to a four-month high of 45.3 percent on a 100-point scale. That was up from November's low of 38.8.

    Elsewhere, markets in Singapore and India also advanced.

    U.S. stock futures rose slightly Wednesday. Dow futures were up 4, or 0.1 percent, at 7990 and S&P500 futures gained 0.7, or 0.1 percent, to 832.20.

    In Tokyo, exporters raced ahead on optimism that the worst may be over for the U.S. economy, a vast market for their products. Toyota Motor Corp, the world's top automaker, jumped 4.5 percent o settle at 40.78 U.S. dollars.

    In currencies, the dollar weakened to 89.05 yen, down from 89.39. The euro traded lower at 1.3002 dollars compared to 1.3014 dollars.