Asian shares rally to 7-mth high levels

The manufacturing sectors in China and India grew for the first time in months in April, surveys showed on Monday, offering evidence the global economy may be through the worst of its sharpest slump in six decades.

The manufacturing sectors in China and India grew for the first time in months in April, surveys showed on Monday, offering evidence the global economy may be through the worst of its sharpest slump in six decades.

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The latest signs of "green shoots" from the world's emerging giants followed US data last Friday that showed a rise in consumer confidence and suggested manufacturing conditions were gradually improving, helping push Asian stocks to seven-month highs on Monday.

Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA said its China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 in April from 44.8 in March. It was the first time since July 2008 the seasonally-adjusted index climbed above the 50-point watershed mark that separates expansion from contraction.

A series of global PMI surveys — which record changes in items such as output, orders, employment, inventories and prices — have suggested or are forecast to show signs the world economy may be through the worst of the downturn.

With Japan closed for a holiday, shares elsewhere in Asia-Pacific rose nearly 5 per cent on Monday, pushing the regional index to its highest level since mid-October and taking its two-month rally to 45 per cent from early March lows.