The Asian equity benchmarks ended mostly in red on Monday, after the latest gauge of China’s factory sector activity raised concerns about the world’s second-largest economy. Malaysian markets were closed today on account of ‘Malaysia - FT Day’ holiday. Activity in China’s factory sector shrank for the second straight month in January, as the New Year got off to a rocky start for the world’s second-largest economy. The slack performance, including a 15th month of shrinking factory employment, will add to the debate over how and whether Beijing will accelerate policy easing, with most bank economists calling for a combination of rate cuts and increased liquidity to spur productive investment. The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for January came in at 49.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, just below the 50.0 level that separates growth from contraction. The number was slightly lower than a preliminary flash reading of 49.8 but higher than the final 49.6 in December. Hong Kong Retail Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -3.9%, from 4.1% in the preceding month. Indonesian Trade Balance rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.19B, from -0.42B in the preceding month. Thai CPI fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -0.41%, from 0.60% in the preceding month.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,128.30 | -82.06 | -2.56 |
Hang Seng | 24,484.74 | -22.31 | -0.09 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,276.24 | -13.17 | -0.25 |
KLSE Composite | - | - | - |
Nikkei 225 | 17,558.04 | -116.35 | -0.66 |
Straits Times | 3,423.35 | 32.15 | 0.95 |
KOSPI Composite | 1,952.68 | 3.42 | 0.18 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,386.99 | 25.08 | 0.27 |