Most Asian stock markets advanced Wednesday as investors welcomed robust growth figures from China amid caution over Europe's debt problems.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1 percent to 21,878.60, the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.5 percent to 2,768.21, and South Korea's Kospi was up 0.7 percent at 2,125.16.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was nearly flat at 9,926.81 as markets monitored the yen, which briefly hit its highest level since mid-March overnight.
The latest data out of China showed that the country's rapid economic growth slowed only slightly in the April-June quarter to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent in the previous quarter.
The growth report eases fears of an abrupt slowdown and gives Beijing room to tighten controls to fight climbing prices.
The government has been trying to tame the world's No. 2 economy, where inflation hit a three-year high in June. Beijing has hiked interest rates five times since October and tightened controls on lending and investment.
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