Asia lifted by US and China growth hopes Asian shares edged higher as solid manufacturing data from the US and China bolstered confidence in the global economic outlook. The FTSE Asia Pacific index advanced 0.5 per cent to 241.6 after the April ISM survey of purchasing managers showed the index of US industrial sector activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, confounding expectations of a drop to 53. China's Purchasing Managers" Index also rose to 53.3 from 53.1 in March, data from the statistics bureau showed on Tuesday. IN Markets "The better than expected manufacturing figures come after a series of disappointing data and the surprise among investors is evident across commodities and risk assets," said Justin Harper, a Singapore-based strategist at IG Markets. Tokyo stocks returned to their winning ways following the 1.8 per cent drop for the Nikkei 225 in the previous session. The Japanese benchmark climbed 0.3 per cent to 9,380.25. Industrial stocks were lifted by the manufacturing data out of the US and China. Nickel producer Pacific Metals climbed 3.1 per cent to Y401, while Fanuc, the industrial robot maker, added 2.4 per cent to Y13,870 and Nippon Sheet Glass gained 3 per cent to Y104. Japan Tobacco rose 2.4 per cent to Y446,500 after the company said it was considering increasing cigarette prices to boost domestic earnings. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 inched 0.1 per cent higher to 4,435.91, held back by banking stocks after ANZ Bank's first-half earnings fell short of market estimates. ANZ shares slid 0.8 per cent to A$23.80, while National Australia Bank slipped 0.4 per cent to A$25.10 as the Reserve Bank of Australia's 50 basis point interest rate cut of the previous session failed to spur risk appetite. In Seoul, Hyundai Engineering & Construction climbed 5 per cent to Won75,000 on a media report that it was close to securing a Won4tn order to expand an oil refinery in Venezuela. The Kospi Composite index climbed 0.9 per cent to 1999.07. In Taipei, PC makers were boosted by better than expected first-quarter earnings with Asustek up 7 per cent to T$315.50 and smartphone maker HTC rising 6.7 per cent to T$472.50. The Taiex index was up 2.3 per cent at 7,676.81.