SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific saw mixed moves in Monday trade as investors digested the release of China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for November.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced Monday that the official manufacturing PMI for November was at 52.1. That was above expectations for a 51.5 reading forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
PMI readings above 50 signify expansion while those below that level represent contraction. PMI readings are sequential and show month-on-month expansion or contraction.
Monday’s data release represented the ninth straight month of expansion for Chinese manufacturing recovery as the country continues to see a strong bounce from the coronavirus pandemic.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher by the afternoon: The Shanghai composite was up 1.07% while the Shenzhen component added 0.701%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.5%. Shares of HSBC listed in the city shed 0.6% following a Financial Times report that the bank is considering an exit from U.S. retail banking.
Markets elsewhere in the region were lower.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.51% while the Topix index fell 1.08%.
Japan’s retail sales rose 6.4% year-on-year in October, according to a preliminary report by the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The data was in line with a median market forecast, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.39% lower.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia edged lower, as the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.78%. Treasury Wine Estates saw its stock plunge around 6% after the firm announced Monday it would reallocate some wine intended for China and reduce costs following Beijing’s imposition of tariffs on Australian wine.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.42%.
Markets in India are closed on Monday for a holiday.
Trade frictions between Washington and Beijing may also have weighed on investor sentiment on Monday. Reuters reported, citing sources, that the Trump administration is set to add China’s top chipmaker SMIC and oil and gas producer CNOOC to a defense blacklist.
Oil prices slip
Oil prices declined in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1.25% to $47.58 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 1.3% to $44.94 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.72 after following a decline in recent days from levels above 92.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.88 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 104.4 against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7385, having risen from levels below $0.732 in the previous week.
Source: CNBC