Chinese, US stock markets rise

Chinese stocks rebounded strongly on Thursday. Bloomberg reports:

China’s stocks rose the most since March, erasing losses from yesterday’s rout, after better-than- estimated earnings at Bank of Communications Co. revived confidence that the economy is recovering...

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, climbed 126, or 4.5 percent, to 2,911.58 at the close, the most since March 4. The gauge fell 4.3 percent yesterday, briefly dipping more than 20 percent below its Aug. 4 high, the threshold for a bear market.

In the absence of nervousness from across the Pacific, US markets also had a good day. Bloomberg reports:

U.S. stocks rose for a third day as American International Group Inc. said it expects to repay the government and data on manufacturing and economic indicators added to evidence the recession may be ending. Treasuries gained as the dollar and oil fell...

The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent to 1,007.37 at 4:05 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 70.89 points, or 0.8 percent, to 9,350.05. Four stocks advanced for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Better data on the US economy also helped markets. Again from Bloomberg:

Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly expanded in August for the first time in almost a year as factories help pull the economy out of its worst recession in seven decades.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index climbed to 4.2 from minus 7.5 in July, the bank said today. Positive readings signal an expansion...

The Conference Board’s gauge of the economic outlook for the next three to six months rose 0.6 percent after a revised 0.8 percent increase in June, the New York-based group said. The July gain marks the longest series of increases since 2004.

New applications for unemployment benefits rose to 576,000 in the week ended Aug. 15 from a revised 561,000 the week before, the Labor Department said. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits the week earlier was little changed at 6.24 million.