Tokyo  Nikkei  9965.01  +1.34%
Seoul   KOSPI  2172.35  +1.83%
Shanghai SSEC  2703.78  +0.08%
Hong Kong HSI 22663.37  +0.99%
Singapore STI  3215.27  +0.82%
Mumbai    BSE 18314.33  +0.64%
Sydney   AORD  4573.10  +1.61% 

1. Asia Stocks Jump as US Strikes Debt Deal
MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3% after US said congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and HK's Hang Seng Index gained 1.3% and 1% respectively.
 
2. HSBC H1 Pretax Profit Climbs 3.6%
Pretax profit of HK-listed bank was US$11.5 billion in the first half of this year. Its net income jumped 36% to US$9.22 billion from a year earlier. It plans to cut additional 25,000 employees by 2013.
 
3. China Manufacturing Posts Slowest Pace in 16 Months
HSBC said its July Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 49.3 from 50.1 in June, signaling a contraction in manufacturing. The official PMI was at 50.7 in July, compared with 50.9 in the previous month. 
 
4. Honda Raises Profit Forecast to US$2.96B
The Japanese automaker previously estimated the profit for FY2012 at US$2.51 billion. Honda posted a net profit of US$412 million in the Apr-Jun period, down 88% from a year earlier.
 
5. Formosa Shares Drop Most in 4 Years
Taiwan's biggest oil refiner lost 6.9% in early trading after Chairman Wang Wen Chao and President Su Chi Yi resigned after a fire broke out at a plant on July 30.
 
6. S Korea July Exports Climb 27.3% on Year
The shipment valued US$51.4 billion last month after gaining 13.6% in June. Imports jumped 24.8% to US$44.2B from a year earlier with a surplus of US$3.4 billion, compared with US$2.8 billion a month earlier.   
 
7. Japan Auto Sales Drop 27.6% in July
The country sold 241,472 vehicles last month. Sales at the largest automaker Toyota fell 37% to 101,790 units from a year earlier. #2 automaker Nissan sold 41,810 vehicles, down 17.6% from last year. 
 
8. Singapore Bank Lending Jumps 26.2% in June
The annual increase was the fastest pace in 12 years and up from the 20.3% record gain in May, as loans and advances climbed to US$311 billion. Business loans gained 31.9%, the most in more than 2 years.
 
9. N Korea Wants Early Six-party Nuclear Talk
Pyongyang said it had constructive talks with the US last week. The communist country walked out of the negotiation in Apr 2009, but it has indicated willingness to return to the dialogue also grouping S Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the US.
 
10. China: Xinjiang Attack Linked to Pakistan
Beijing blamed Muslim extremists trained in Pakistan for an attack that killed 6 people in the province on Sunday. The weekend violence in Xinjiang had left 18 people dead.