Asia stocks rise and China manufacturing slows

Singapore: Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, tracking U.S. stocks, which have received the optimistic comments from influential investor Warren Buffett, while Chinese production growth has slowed to a six-month low.
test Nikkei average in Japan (. N225) rose 1 percent and the broader index Topix (. interesting information) rose 1.2 percent, while Australian shares (. AXJ0) also gained.
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), told shareholders in his widely read annual letter that he saw a need for a "major acquisitions", a sign of the shares may be cheap.
In many parts of Asia, inflation and measures to combat it, still dominate politics. Inflation is regarded as one of the biggest risks to economic growth that encourages investment in Asian emerging markets and much of Europe and other developed economic stagnation.
Chinese output growth slowed in February, according to official surveys, as a sustained campaign of the Government to curb inflation weighed on industrial activity.
High world commodity prices challenging monetary tightening, pushing the gauge of industrial prices contributed to a three-month high in the index of China's official purchasing managers (PMI).
The overall PMI, which is designed to provide a snapshot of conditions in the manufacturing sector fell to 52.2 in February from 52.9 in January, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said.
"Inflationary pressure is growing, but economic activity is slowing. The economic slowdown is good for the cooling of inflation," said Wang Hu, an economist at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai.
China's battle against inflation is a key factor in the market, and some foreign investors will prefer Japanese shares, analysts said.
"U.S. and European investors were the major players in the Japanese market. But Asian investors have joined as Japan is one of the few countries with a low interest rate risk," said Shun Maruyama, chief strategist at Credit Suisse.
"They are buying Japanese shares in the process of elimination, as Japan has more tolerance for higher oil prices than in other Asian countries."
Australia's central bank kept interest rates steady on Tuesday in the fourth month, and said inflation seemed to remain in their preferred range for the entire year, indicating that he would not rush to raise them again.
Indonesia's annual inflation slowed in February, but 6.84 percent was above the target range the central bank's 4-6 per cent.
Crude oil traded near $ 120 a barrel last week, its highest level in more than two years, largely on fears that a political coup in Libya will be distributed through the oil-producing countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has reassured the market with an offer.
Brent Crude was steady around $ 112 per barrel and U.S. light crude for delivery in April rose 45 cents to $ 97.41 a barrel. Gold, which in February recorded its largest monthly gain since August, as nervous investors sought safety, was about $ 3 to $ 1,413.60 an ounce.
(. DXY) Dollar Index, which tracks its performance against a basket of major currencies, remained unchanged at 76.951, near the 3 - month low of 76.756.
The British pound reached its highest in four months against the dollar on expectations the Bank of England to raise rates, and that high oil prices will slow U.S. economic growth.
Investors expect some of the key U.S. economic events. This week will see the testimony of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Senate Banking Committee at 10 am ET on Tuesday, and U.S. jobs data on Friday.