Asian shares rise amid China’s market support, eyes on U.S. economic data

Asian shares crept higher on Monday as China announced new measures to support its ailing markets, though the mood was cautious ahead of readings on U.S. jobs and inflation could decide whether interest rates have to rise again.

Beijing on Sunday announced it would halve the stamp duty on stock trading in the latest attempt to boost the struggling market and revive investor confidence.

The help was needed given profits at China’s industrial firms fell 6.7% in July from a year earlier, extending this year’s slump to a seventh month.

Chinese blue chips shed 2% last week to hit its lows for the year so far, and all eyes will be on the official PMI for August out on Thursday. Read more