Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the morning deals on Thursday, with most of them faltering after a good start due to a disappointing report on Chinese manufacturing activity in August. A positive lead from Wall Street contributed to a higher opening in most of the markets in the region, but the mood turned cautious after data from Markit Economics showed a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing activity with the flash purchasing managers' index coming in with a reading of 50.3, shy of forecasts for a score of 51.5. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market surged higher, extending gains to a ninth successive session, on the back of a weaker yen. In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand at an accelerating pace in August, the latest flash purchasing managers' index from Markit Economics revealed on Thursday - with a score of 52.4. That handily beat forecasts for a score of 51.5 following the 50.5 reading in July. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore is traded higher, while Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are weak.
Hang Seng dropped by 232.71 points or 0.92% to 24,927.05, KOSPI Index slipped 29.02 points or 1.40% to 2,043.76, Jakarta Composite tumbled by 5.84 points or 0.11% to 5,184.32, Shanghai Composite declined by 19.71 points or 0.88% to 2,220.51, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.40 points or 0.29% to 1,873.49 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 50.23 points or 0.54% to 9,237.82.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 spurted by 106.19 points or 0.69% to 15,560.64, Straits Times gained 1.14 points or 0.03% points or 3,324.79.
Start Research-backed Investing ...Now. Subscribe to Sapphire
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: