FT Alphaville " Asian markets boosted by manufacturing data Posted by Kate Mackenzie on Jan 03 05:45. Asian stocks have begun the new year on a brighter note as manufacturing activity reports from China, India and Australia fuelled confidence that the region's economies will be able to weather the eurozone debt crisis, reports the FT. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index excluding Japan rose 1.3 per cent as sentiment perked up following gains for European bourses. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.6 per cent while South Korea's Kospi index gained 2 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 1.1 per cent. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.6 per cent in spite of data showing that the city-state's economy shrank for the second time in three quarters. Bloomberg reports Australian manufacturing expanded for the first time in six months, according to an industry survey published on Tuesday, following German and Chinese factory output reports beat economist estimates in the past two days. Data later on Tuesday may show a US manufacturing gauge climbed to a six-month high in December, according to Bloomberg's survey of economists" forecasts. This entry was posted by Kate Mackenzie on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 5:45 and is filed under Capital markets. Edit this entry.