Asian markets ended mixed on Friday as minutes from the most recent Fed meeting added weight to expectations for a rate hike in December and caution set in ahead of the highly-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina this weekend. Chinese shares ended higher, despite some disappointing data, suggesting that China's manufacturing activity continued to worsen in November. The manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 in November, missing expectations for a score of 50.2, which would have been unchanged from the October reading. The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 53.4 - also shy of expectations for 53.8 and down from 53.9 in the previous month. The composite index posted a score of 52.8, down from 53.1 a month earlier. Meanwhile, Japanese shares hit a three-week high in cautious trade as investors awaited the outcome of the weekend meeting between the US and Chinese presidents.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,588.19 | 20.75 | 0.80 |
Hang Seng | 26,506.75 | 55.72 | 0.21 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,056.12 | -51.05 | -0.84 |
KLSE Composite | 1,679.86 | -16.48 | -0.97 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,351.06 | 88.46 | 0.40 |
Straits Times | 3,117.61 | 8.17 | 0.26 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,096.86 | -17.24 | -0.82 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,888.03 | 2.67 | 0.03 |
