Asian markets trade mostly lower in early deals on Thursday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in the early deals on Thursday as a pair of Chinese manufacturing surveys did little to inspire investors, as markets waited to see if US employment data could put the Federal Reserve on track to hike interest rates. China released manufacturing data for August, with the official purchasing managers’ index coming in at 50.4, versus 49.9 in July, the highest in 22 months and indicating a slight expansion in the economy. The reading came in above the 50.0 level that indicates economic expansion. On the other hand the Caixin China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, a private gauge of nationwide factory activity, fell to 50.0 in August from 50.6 in July but still showed an expansion, albeit at a slower pace. Further, negative lead from Wall Street and the steep drop in crude oil prices overnight, also fuelled the downtrend. However, Japanese shares rose ahead of an American jobs report Friday on weakness in yen. Among the other Asian markets, Shanghai, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are in negative territory. Bucking the trend, Singapore and Hong Kong are modestly higher.

Shanghai Composite dropped 4.62 points or 0.15% to 3,080.87, Taiwan Weighted decreased 54.52 points or 0.60% to 9,014.33, KOSPI Index dipped 7.20 points or 0.35% to 2,027.45, Jakarta Composite contracted 52.42 points or 0.97% to 5,333.66, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 6.16 points or 0.37% to 1,671.90.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 jumped 31.63 points or 0.19% to 16,919.03, Hang Seng added 117.64 points or 0.51% to 23,094.52, and Straits Times was up by 13.73 points or 0.49% to 2,834.32.