Shares in Asia up as markets digest Markit China PMI, Tankan and Greece

Investing.com - Asian shares staged a first day of month rally Wednesday as investors eyed the tangle of Greece debt talks and digested a slew of regional data.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.22%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.30% and the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.66% and the Hang Seng index jumped 1.09%.

Japan's June quarter Tankan survey of business sentiment showed plus-15 for the diffusion index (DI) for major manufacturers, up from plus-12, while the index for major non-manufacturers came in at plus-23, higher than the plus-22 expected and up from plus-19 in March.

In Australia, the June AIGroup manufacturing index fell 9.1 points to 44.2, a two-year low. The index was at 52.3 in May.

Also in Australia, May building approvals rose 2.4%, well above the gain of 1.0% expected, and compared to a 4.4% fall in April. The RBA's commodity price index ( down 1.6% previously) is due at 1630 (0630 GMT).

In China, the June CFLP manufacturing and services PMI came in at 50.2, just a tad below the 50.3 expected and unchanged from the previous month.

The final reading of the Markit manufacturing PMI however came in at 49.4, compared to the flash of 49.6 and May's final 49.2.

"The final reading of the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI pointed to a further decline in the health of the manufacturing sector in June," Markit economist Annabel Fiddes said.

"This was predominantly driven by the sharpest rate of job shedding across the sector since early 2009 while output also fell slightly on the month. On the upside there were some signs of improvement in the shape of renewed increases in total new orders and new export business - suggesting that client demand both at home and abroad is reviving. However, it is likely that more stimulus measures will be required to ensure that the sector can regain growth momentum and to encourage job creation."

The International Monetary Fund issued the following release on Wednesday in Asia regarding Greece's missed June 30 payment to the Fund.

Mr. Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement today regarding Greece's financial obligations to the IMF due today:

"I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment (about €1.5 billion) due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received. We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.

"I can also confirm that the IMF received a request today from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece's repayment obligation that fell due today, which will go to the IMF's Executive Board in due course."

Overnight, U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday from a massive sell-off one session earlier, as the parties in longstanding Greek Debt and Iranian Nuclear talks sent indications that negotiations could drag into next week.

One day after crashing more than 350 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the month on a high note by rising modestly. The NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, also posted minor gains on the final day of trading in the first half of the year. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 ended the first half slightly in positive territory, while the Dow concluded the first six months of the year down by roughly 1%.

On Tuesday, the Dow gained 23.16 or 0.13% to 17,619.51, while the NASDAQ rose 28.40 or 0.57% to close at 4,986.87. The S&P 500 also gained 5.48 or 0.27% to 2,063.12, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green.