Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:22:55 GMT
Asian stocks advance on U.S. manufacturing and China's services
Asian shares advanced, pushing the regional benchmark index to the highest in 17 months, as U.S. manufacturing expanded and China's services sector sparked optimism in the world economic recovery. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index outside Japan climbed as much as 0.4% to 477.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.3%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.7% to the highest level