Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.7% to 27,742.28, while the Kospi in Seoul rose 0.1% to 3,205.43. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.9% to 26,189.44 after being in the red for much of the morning.
The official figure was the lowest since February 2020, when a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was in place. Analysts had expected a smaller easing of manufacturing activity. "In fact, more policy directions were announced on 30 July, and they are directly from a meeting chaired by President Xi. Those policies aim at solving problems to achieve long-term economic stability, which could sacrifice short-term growth momentum," she said.
"Despite the long-term prospects of Chinese stocks, we think the stringency of recent regulatory actions will likely keep foreign investors on the edge for now until the sentiment starts improving," Nomura research analysts said in a note.
Of course they too can print Fiat to keep their stock markets afloat just like us in the West. But what will they do when even that doesn’t work anymore?