Asian markets close day up despite weak data from China

ISTANBUL

Major stock markets in Asia closed with gains on Tuesday despite negative data from China, while European indices were mixed, with two of them posting new all-time highs.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, rose 15 points, or 0.39%, to close at 3,892.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange gained 68, or 0.24%, to 27,888 points.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, climbed 322 points, or 1.23%, to 26,605. China's Shanghai stock exchange was up 3, or 1.01%, to 3,529 points.

The optimism came despite negative data from China. Car sales fell 1.5 million units in the country in July – the second monthly drop in a row. The decline stemmed from chip shortages facing the global auto industry.

The Chinese central bank also released a report Monday saying it aims to focus on stable monetary policy, less use of stimulus, and a balance between economic development and risk prevention.

In Europe, major indices were mixed, after economic expectations in Germany fell to 40.4 in August, from 63.3 in July, the third consecutive monthly decline, according to the ZEW research institute.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, saw a historical high level during the session with 472.17 points before falling to 472 points as of 1037GMT.

Italy's FTSE MIB also hit an all-time high of 26,231.18, but later fell to 26,176 points.

The French CAC 40 and German DAX 30 were at 6,819 and 15,770 points, respectively, with gains of 0.09% and 0.16%.

Two indices were in negative territory, with London's FTSE 100 down 0.11% at 7,124 points, and Spain's IBEX 35 down 0.15% to 8,852.