Markets rallied Friday as forecast-busting Chinese data boosted hopes the world's number-two economy may be stabilising after an extended slowdown. Hong Kong led the Asian charge Friday after data showed Chinese retail sales and industrial production jumped more than expected last month.
"The improvement in industrial production and retail sales is encouraging," Frances Cheung, of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, said.However, officials added a note of caution with the latest readings, with the National Bureau of Statistics warning"there are still a lot of uncertainties and instabilities externally, and the domestic demand still appears insufficient".
Traders were given a solid platform to start the day after all three main indexes on Wall Street rallied on the back of figures pointing to a still-resilient US consumer sector. They also all but confirmed the Fed will likely not lift rates next week, and while there is still the possibility of one more hike this year, traders remain optimistic.
"But all of the data that is coming in higher than expected is going to put pressure on them to raise rates again at the following meeting."
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