Stocks in Asia were mixed on Monday following the latest data on Chinese manufacturing, with markets in Australia and Hong Kong falling slightly while Shanghai gained.
Japanese markets were closed for holiday Monday.
Stocks in Tokyo had jumped to their highest level in nearly seven years Friday after the Bank of Japan said it would increase asset purchases for the first time in more than a year-and-a-half.
The U.S. dollar continued to rise against the Japanese yen after trading at a six-year high Friday. The dollar was last at ¥112.84, up from ¥112.34 late Friday in New York.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dipped 82.09 points, or 0.3%, to 23,951.97.
In Australia, shares of Woolworths fell 4.9% after the country’s biggest retailer said sales revenue in the three months through September rose by a worse-than-expected 3% from a year earlier.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped, after HSBC’s October manufacturing PMI reading for the country fell to 48.7 from 48.8 in September, marking the second-straight month of contraction, even after the Bank of Korea cut interest rates twice this year.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 4.22 points, or 0.2%, to 2,512.55
HSBC’s China manufacturing purchasing managers index on Monday had a final reading of 50.4 for October, unchanged from a preliminary reading and up from 50.2 in September. On Saturday, however, China’s official manufacturing gauge came in at a five-month low of 50.8 for October.
Mainland property stocks escaped the broader decline following reports that China won’t introduce a long-awaited property tax until 2017. Shares of residential property developer Greentown China Holdings Ltd. rose 5.3% to HK$8.50. and KWG Property Holding Ltd. gained 5.8% to HK$5.69.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 16.59 points, or 0.5%, to 3,290.84
The Taiex index in Taiwan took on 30.10 points, or 0.3%, to 9,004.86
Korea’s Kospi index moved lower 11.46 points, or 0.6%, to 1,952.87
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 added 30.39 points, or 0.6%, to 5,418.22
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 19.72 points, or 0.4%, to 5,506.89
