Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday tracking Wall Street’s gains last Friday on the back of better-than-expected earnings and easing concerns over aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. Oil prices dropped in Asian trade on demand concerns following weak Chinese factory activity data and ahead of this week's OPEC+ meeting on supply adjustments. Japanese shares advanced even as the final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI dropped to a seasonally adjusted 52.1 in July from the previous month's 52.7 final - marking the slowest pace of growth since September last year. Chinese shares gained despite unexpected contraction in China's factory activity in July, with the corresponding PMI falling to 49 from 50.2 in June as a result of fresh COVID-19 outbreaks. Seoul shares ended flat after mixed economic data. Data showed that the country's factory activity shrank in July for the first time in nearly two years. Exports grew at a faster annual pace in July than a month earlier, while the trade deficit widened to the biggest in six months due to high commodity prices.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,259.96 | 6.72 | 0.21 |
Hang Seng | 20,165.84 | 9.33 | 0.05 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,968.78 | 17.66 | 0.25 |
KLSE Composite | 1,502.07 | 9.84 | 0.66 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,993.35 | 191.71 | 0.69 |
Straits Times | 3,238.75 | 27.19 | 0.85 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,452.25 | 0.75 | 0.03 |
Taiwan Weighted | 14,981.69 | -18.38 | -0.12 |
