Asia

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group and Jupiter Fund Management soared on Thursday after both groups reported hefty profits in their half-year results.

Aberdeen Asset Management's Hugh Young has cautioned there is a lack of buying opportunities in Asia as earnings growth continues to slow down across the continent.

Aberdeen Asset Management was hard hit by June's market sell-off, which contributed to a 1% drop in AUM for the asset manager in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the end of March.

China's major equity markets slipped further into bear market territory this week as traders worried about the withdrawal of QE in the US, and slowing Chinese growth.

Asian stock markets finished Monday's session firmer as the latest growth figures from China matched forecasts.

Asian markets regained ground on Wednesday following falls as weaker than expected Chinese trade data sparked worries the country's growth may slow further in Q2.

The FTSE 100 is in the black this morning, buoyed by shares including Royal Bank of Scotland which helped the index shrug-off weak Asian markets overnight.

CHINA

Asian equity markets have followed their European counterparts higher in overnight trading, but investor attention is now firmly focused on the US once again.

Newton's Jason Pidcock is maintaining an overweight to Australian equities in his Asian Income portfolio, despite the recent underperformance of the local currency against the US dollar.