Mainland Chinese stocks posted strong gains after two separate surveys showed an improvement in manufacturing activity Thursday, although regional technology shares were checked by a plunge in Panasonic Corp. shares. China's Shanghai Composite index soared 1.8% after an official gauge of manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.2 in October from 49.8 in September. A competing final survey from HSBC showed its own PMI reading rose to 49.5 in October, an 8-month high for the data series. Read more about the manufacturing survey findings. The improvement implied “China's industrial activity continues to bottom out following a modest pickup last month. This is driven by the increase of new orders, thanks to the filtering through of the earlier easing measures, while exports outlook remains challenging," said Hongbin Qu, HSBC's chief economist for China. The data also helped support some other benchmarks, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3%. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 1.1%. U.S. shares ended Wednesday on a mixed note but made minor moves, with markets open for the first time this week after flooding and power outages prevented trading on Monday and Tuesday. Read: Stock indexes post first monthly loss since May. Mainland Chinese companies gaining ground on Thursday included property firms, with Poly Real Estate Group Co. soaring 5.6% and Gemdale Corp. climbing 4.8%. The gains came as average housing prices in 100 major Chinese cities rose in October from the previous month, stretching the run of increases to a fifth straight month. Notable advancers in Hong Kong included apparel firm Esprit Holdings Ltd. up 4.4%, and casino firm Sands China Ltd. , up 3.8%. Japanese technology companies were under earnings-related pressure on Thursday. The sector was provided with a weak lead late Wednesday, after Panasonic Corp. unveiled a near $9-billion quarterly loss after taking restructuring charges. Panasonic shares slumped 18.7%. Shares of Sony Corp. dropped 3.9% ahead of its report. TDK Corp. fell 5.7%, while Fujifilm Holdings Corp. dropped 4.3% after both firms cut guidance while reporting earnings. Earnings-related gains elsewhere offered some support to the Japanese market, however, with Mazda Motor Corp. up 8.4%, Softbank Corp. up 4.2% and Kyocera Corp. up 3.4% after updating investors. The drop in Seoul, meanwhile, came as South Korean survey data out showed that although manufacturing improved to 47.4 from 45.7, it remained below the 50-point level, signaling a deterioration. Australian manufacturing also contracted for the eight straight month in October with a reading of 45.3. Technology giant Samsung Electronics Co. lost 1%, while auto maker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 4%. Posco shares were down 1.9% in Seoul. The steel giant, along with Noble Group Ltd. , walked away from a takeover deal for Australian steel concern Arrium Ltd. , which dropped 14.7% in Sydney. Metal firms were lower across the board in Australia, with Rio Tinto Ltd. down 0.9% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. 1.2% lower. Airlines were also weak, with Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. down 1.6% and Qantas Airways Ltd. down 3.2%. Marketwatch
