Sentiments remained bearish across the Asian region and all the Asian counters shut shop in the red on Monday as a little better manufacturing data from China failed to calm fears of a slowdown in the world’s number two economy. The preliminary HSBC China manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to a two-month high of 49.1 in April compared with a final reading of 48.3 in March. Investors also remained wary ahead of key central bank meetings. Moreover, the sentiments too remained dampened after French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost to Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in the first round of the presidential elections, sparking concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares slipped about two percent, dragged lower as China Mobile posted underwhelming March subscriber numbers after markets closed last Friday. Moreover, Shanghai Composite ended lower by 0.76 percent, dragged down by financial and energy majors ahead of several first-quarter corporate earnings reports throughout this week.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,388.59 | -18.28 | -0.76 |
Hang Seng | 20,624.39 | -386.25 | -1.84 |
Jakarta Composite | 4,155.49 | -25.88 | -0.62 |
KLSE Composite | 1,583.80 | -8.05 | -0.51 |
Nikkei 225 | 9,542.17 | -19.19 | -0.20 |
Straits Times | 2,962.35 | -32.13 | -1.07 |
Seoul Composite | 1,972.63 | -2.02 | -0.10 |
Taiwan Weighted | 7,481.09 | -26.06 | -0.35 |