Most of the Asian equity indices kick started the New Year in negative territory, after a day of break, amid lack of cues from the U.S. and European markets. Back on regional front, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading under pressure as sentiments remained dampened on account of weaker-than-expected manufacturing data out of China. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.0 in December from 51.4 in November, as export orders and output weakened, official figures showed. In a separate PMI survey by HSBC Holdings Plc. and Markit Economics showed that manufacturing activity slipped to 50.5 in December from 50.8 in November, unchanged from a preliminary reading.
Shanghai Composite declined 9.28 points or 0.44% to 2,106.70, Hang Seng dipped 57.23 points or 0.25% to 23,249.16, KLSE Composite contracted 11.32 points or 0.61% to 1,855.64, Seoul Composite tumbled 31.01 points or 1.54% to 1,980.33 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 5.04 points or 0.06% to 8,606.47.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite added 37.88 points or 0.89% to 4,312.06 and Straits Times was down by 6.01 points or 0.19% to 3,173.44.
Japanese markets remained closed for the trade today.
