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Asian Shares Mixed; Private Survey Shows China’s Manufacturing Expanded

By:
James Hyerczyk
Updated: Nov 1, 2019, 02:00 UTC

A private survey showed factory activity in China expanded in October with the Caixin/Markit PMI coming in at 51.7. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the PMI number to come in at 51.0 from 51.4 for September.

Asian Stock Market

The major Asia Pacific stock indexes are trading mixed early Friday on renewed worries over the potential for a long-term trade deal between the United States and China. The rekindled jitters were fueled after Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing sources, that Chinese officials have been casting doubt over the possibility of a long-term deal with the U.S.

The report added Chinese officials are concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump’s “impulsive nature” and the risk of him backing out of any kind of deal.

At 01:35 GMT, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index is trading 22782.22, down 144.82 or -0.63. South Korea’s KOSPI Index is at 2089.25, up 5.77 or +0.28% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 26806.44, down 100.28 or -0.37%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is at 6661.00, down 2.40 or -0.04%. China’s Shanghai Index is at 2917.94, down 11.12 or -0.38%.

Japan

Shares of gaming firm Nintendo surged more than 4% after the company announced on Thursday a second-quarter profit that exceeded expectations.

Japan’s Unemployment Rate unexpectedly rose in September, climbing from a 27-year low before a sales tax hike that is likely to dampen consumer spending. The jobless rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 2.4%, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. Economists had forecast unemployment at 2.2%.

Bloomberg’s Asia Economist Team said, “Looking ahead, we think the labor market will remain tight overall, though with some slack appearing in 4Q. The increase in the sales tax should crimp demand for workers in October. The challenging external environment may also limit demand for labor.”

Hong Kong

ESR Cayman is set to make its public debut on Friday, which is expected to be the second-largest IPO for the city this year. That would follow Budweiser APAC’s IPO, the second-largest globally this year, in Hong Kong in September.

The proposed listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) will raise net proceeds of approximately HK$4.4 billion (S$770.40 million) with an offer price of HK$16.80 per share, the logistics real estate developer said on Thursday.

It said in its prospectus that it would use the proceeds of the share sale to pare existing debt, finance the completion of projects already in the pipeline, and to further expand its footprint through mergers and acquisitions.

China

A private survey showed factory activity in China expanded in October with the Caixin/Markit PMI coming in at 51.7. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the PMI number to come in at 51.0 from 51.4 for September.

Official manufacturing data released on Thursday showed factory activity in China contracted for the sixth month in a row.

About the Author

James is a Florida-based technical analyst, market researcher, educator and trader with 35+ years of experience. He is an expert in the area of patterns, price and time analysis as it applies to futures, Forex, and stocks.

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