Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, with Chinese companies weighed down by a deceleration in Chinese manufacturing, while Thai stocks sank to their lowest level since the latter part of 2012.
Markets in Japan had the day off. The Japanese currency was still being traded, however, with the U.S. dollar steady against the yen at ¥105.35. The greenback surged 21.4% against its Japanese counterpart in 2013 — a major contributor to the rally in stocks, which enjoyed their best year in four decades with a 57% gain.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 33.66 points, or 0.1%, to 23,340.05
CHINA
China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index, released on Wednesday, pointed to slowing momentum in factory activity. The December reading was 51.0 — slower than 51.4 in the previous month, but still above the 50 mark that indicates an expansion in manufacturing.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index deducted 8.05 points, or 0.4%, to 2,321.98.
It was followed by a similar deceleration in HSBC’s PMI, which came out on Thursday morning at 50.5 for December, compared with 50.8 in November. Although regional stocks started the day mostly higher, they weakened after HSBC’s PMI release.
Also weighing on Shanghai was the resumption of initial public offerings, after a moratorium on new listings since late 2012. Earlier in the week, five companies were granted approval to start marketing deals on Thursday.
Before the suspension of IPOs, China’s domestic stock market had been weighed for several years by a constant supply of shares of new companies coming to the market.
In other markets;
Markets in New Zealand had the day off
Korea’s Kospi index returned from holiday to dock 44.15, or 2.2%, to 1,967.19
Taiwan’s Taiex Index edged forward 1.03 points to 8,612.34
The Singapore Straits Times Index gathered 7.22 points, or 0.2%, to 3,174.65
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 took on 15.71 points, or 0.3%, to 5,367.91
