Asian stock markets rise

Asian stocks rose as surveys showed a sharp recovery in Chinese services. Asia-Pacific stocks rose on Friday after Wall Street gained overnight after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he was “definitely” in favor of quarter-point increases. China’s services sector saw activity pick up to 55 in February from 52.9 in January, according to the Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing manager index. The Shenzhen Component fell 0.2 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.13 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent, while the Hang Seng Tech Index added 1.5 percent. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.46 percent to lead the region’s gains, and Japan’s unemployment rate hit 2.4 percent in January, while the Topix rose 1.25 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.44 percent, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.15 percent, and the Kosdaq rose 1.36 percent. In the U.S., stocks were initially under pressure as the trading day began, but rose in the afternoon after Bostic’s comments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the gains among major U.S. indexes, rising 1.05 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.76 percent and 0.73 percent, respectively.