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Hong Kong - Asian markets rose on Thursday as an index of Chinese manufacturing activity hit an 18-month high in July, boosting hopes for the world's number two economy, as concerns over the Ukraine crisis eased.
The euro avoided any further losses after a recent sell-off saw it hit an eight-month low against the dollar while it made inroads against the yen.
Shanghai jumped 0.84% and Hong Kong climbed 0.42%, its third straight gain, while Tokyo rose 0.11% by the break, Sydney added 0.20% and Seoul was up 0.25%.
Banking giant HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers' index of manufacturing activity for this month jumped to 52.0 from a final reading of 50.7 in June.
The result suggests a recent slate of small stimulus measures by the government is gaining traction.
Anything above 50 points to growth and a number below suggests contraction in the Asian economic giant and key driver of regional and global growth.
"Economic activity continues to improve in July, suggesting that the cumulative impact of mini-stimulus measures introduced earlier is still filtering through," HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said in a statement.
"We expect policy makers to maintain their accommodative stance over the next few months to consolidate the recovery."
The news helped support an uptrend in markets as they recover from Friday's losses that were fuelled by the downing of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine.
The tragedy, which killed almost 300 people, has been blamed by the the United States on pro-Russian rebels fighting the Ukraine government, raising concerns of an international crisis.
Those fears eased on Tuesday when the militants, who had swarmed the crash site, handed over the black box recorders and allowed the bodies of the victims to leave.
However, Moscow still faces strict economic sanctions for its support of the rebels, in turn stoking concerns for the eurozone economy, which relies heavily on Russian energy imports.
Those fears sent the euro tumbling on Tuesday and Wednesday, although the unit stood firm on Thursday in Asia.
The single currency bought $1.3458 and ¥136.63 in early trade, against $1.3462 and ¥136.62 late in New York. However, that compares with $1.3458 and ¥136.44 in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.
The dollar was at ¥101.53 against ¥101.48 in New York
Wall Street provided a mixed lead, with the S&P 500 edging up 0.18% to a new record thanks to a jump in Apple but the Dow dropped 0.16%, hit by a hefty fall in Boeing. The Nasdaq rose 0.40%.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September was up 2 cents at $103.14 a barrel in mid-morning trade.
Brent crude climbed 8c to $108.11.
Gold fetched $1 300.00 an ounce by 02:10 GMT compared with $1 307.17 late on Wednesday.
