Asian shares up after China growth data, Wall St rally

HONG KONG: Asian markets rose on Monday after China released data showing the economy grew in line with expectations in the April-June quarter.

While the news out of Beijing pointed to a further weakening in the economy, it met forecasts and added to broadly upbeat sentiment that was helped by another record-breaking finish on Wall Street.

Hong Kong rose 0.46 percent and Shanghai added 0.61 percent, while Sydney -- where a number of listed companies rely on Chinese trade -- climbed 0.35 percent. Seoul put on 0.53 percent.

Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.

Beijing said gross domestic product expanded 7.5 percent in the second quarter, a second straight slowdown.

First quarter growth came in at 7.7 percent, from the 7.9 percent in the last three months of 2012.

Growth in the first six months of the year came in at 7.6 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Capital Securities analyst Amy Lin told Dow Jones Newswires: "Investors have taken into account slower growth, and given the in-line 2Q number, they don't see any point changing positions for now."

Traders have grown increasingly concerned about China's economy, a crucial driver of growth globally, as a slew of data has pointed to continuing weakness.