Asian stock markets rise after China data

Asian markets rose after China’s August activity data largely beat expectations. Asia-Pacific markets rose on the back of mostly better-than-expected Chinese economic data for August. China’s August retail sales and factory output beat expectations but pressure on fixed-asset investment came in slightly below expectations. House prices fell 0.1 percent in August from a year earlier. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rebounded after the announcement, rising 1.3 percent, while mainland markets also rose, with the CSI 300 rising marginally. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.34 percent, while the Topix continued to push 33-year highs, up 1.25 percent. Most notably, Softbank’s shares rose more than 3 percent after its chip design firm Arm, which it controls, surged nearly 25 percent on its Nasdaq debut. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.8 percent. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.15 percent, while the Kosdaq rose marginally.