Stocks buoyed by US manufacturing report

Asian stocks rose today, lifted by a positive report on US manufacturing, but shares in Japan sank as a strengthening yen hurt the country's powerhouse export sector.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 20,634.58, South Korea's Kospi added 0.9% to 2,047.14 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 4,343.20.

But Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% to 10,068.19, as a strengthening yen threatened to cut into the profits of exporters that depend heavily on overseas sales.

Mainland China markets are closed for public holidays.

Today, the US Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 53.4 in March from 52.4 in February.

Wall Street rose after the report was released. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.4% to close at 13,264.49. It has not closed that high since the last day of 2007.

The S&P 500 closed up 0.8% at 1,419.04. That was its highest close since May 19, 2008. The Nasdaq composite average gained 0.9% to 3,119.70.

The US report offset signs of weakness in China's services sector.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that the non-manufacturing sector's Purchasing Managers Index rose 9.6 points from February to 58 points for March. Readings above 50 indicate an industry is expanding.

But Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said the result was below expectations and points to a cooling off in the services sector.

The index typically rises strongly in March after Chinese New Year holidays.