Asian markets gain on upbeat US economic data

HONG KONG — Asian stocks advanced Friday after a report that U.S. manufacturing activity jumped last month, raising hopes of a rebound in industrial production that would bolster growth in the world's biggest economy.

Investors were pleased after the Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index rose much higher than expected in July. They were also optimistic ahead of key U.S. data releases expected later Friday that they hoped would add further evidence of a strengthening U.S. recovery.

"Holy smokes," economists at Singapore's DBS Bank wrote in a research note. They noted that the report comes after other recent upbeat U.S. data, including second-quarter growth that was better than expected and a surge in durable goods orders.

"Payrolls and the unemployment rate are on tap today. If these green shoots — or rocket ships in the case of the ISM — spill over to the labor market, there's going to be a party at the Fed. And on Pennsylvania Avenue. Wall Street."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.4 percent to 14,203.02. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 22,201.85 while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to 2,046.59.

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.4 percent to 1,928.76 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9 percent to 5,105.60.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent to close at 15,628.02. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.3 percent to 1,706.87 while the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.4 percent to 3,675.74.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 72 cents to $108.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.86 to close at $107.89 a barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3215 from $1.3206 late Thursday. The dollar fell to 99.42 Japanese yen from 99.49 yen.