In This Article:
* Stocks in Europe expected to open higher
* MSCI Asia ex-Japan adds 0.5 pct; Chinese A-shares bounce
* U.S. reports faster growth; China industrial profits up
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Andrew Galbraith and Noah Sin
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, April 29 (Reuters) - Asian shares climbed on Monday, with markets in Europe poised to track their gains, after strong U.S. first-quarter economic growth and data showing profits at Chinese industrial firms grew for the first time in four months.
Still nagged by uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy, investors were awaiting a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve this week and Chinese factory data for further clues on policy direction in the world's biggest economies.
In early European trade for index futures, London's FTSE was 0.2 percent higher while Germany's DAX edged up 0.1 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.5 percent, rebounding from its biggest weekly drop in more than a month last week.
Chinese blue-chips jumped over 1 percent after losing 5.6 percent last week, leading Shanghai shares to an intraday high in afternoon trade.
Australian shares were down 0.4 percent after hitting an 11-year closing high on Friday, while Seoul's KOSPI was up 1.4 percent.
Japan's financial markets are closed for a long national holiday this week, but Nikkei 225 futures in Singapore was 0.9 percent higher.
Monday's gains follow data showing U.S. gross domestic product grew at a faster 3.2 percent annualised rate in the first quarter.
In China, fresh data showed industrial profits grew in March after four months of contraction, but analysts said sentiment remained fragile. Economists polled by Reuters expect factory activity in the world's second largest economy to grow at a steady but modest pace in April.
"Investors are still looking for direction in terms of growth, but at the same time there is still quite a lot of uncertainty" on U.S.-China trade and the U.S. dollar, said Joanne Goh, equity strategist at DBS Bank in Singapore.
"A strong U.S. dollar doesn't really bode well for Asian markets," she added.
In contrast with weakness in Asian markets last week, Wall Street ended Friday on a high note, propelled by the GDP figures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31 percent to 26,543.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added or 0.34 percent to 8,146.40.
The S&P 500 gained 0.47 percent to 2,939.88, its second record closing high for the week.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that despite stronger-than-expected earnings helping to lift markets, he saw investors' positioning on the S&P becoming "overly extended".