By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were down Friday morning despite another record run for U.S. stocks overnight, as investors digested a slew of end-of-month economic data in the region.
China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.61% by 10:14 PM ET (2:14 AM GMT) and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.47% ahead of a weeklong holiday beginning on Saturday. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for April was 51.1, below the 51.7 in forecasts prepared by Investing.com and March’s 51.9 figure. The non-manufacturing PMI was 54.9, also below March’s 56.3 reading.
In the private sector, the Caixin manufacturing PMI for April was 51.9, above the 50.8 in forecasts prepare by Investing.com and April’s 50.6 reading. Investors now await the Caixin services PMI, due in the following week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.50% as the country returned from a holiday. Industrial production increased 2.2% month-on-month in March, higher than the 2% growth in forecasts prepared by Investing.com and February’s 1.3% contraction. The Tokyo core Consumer Price Index contracted 0.2% year-on-year in April as per expectations but was lower than March’s 0.1% contraction.
In Australia, the ASX 200 was down 0.55%. Data released earlier in the day said that the Producer Price Index rose 0.2% year-on-year, and 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, in the first quarter of 2021.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1.55% as the city recorded its first untraceable case of a COVID-19 mutant variant on Thursday. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.89%.
U.S. shares ended the previous session on a downward note, even as the S&P 500 recorded a new high. Investors digested mixed corporate earnings as well as concerns that a global chip shortage could wipe out Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) earnings-driven gains. U.S. Treasuries also weakened.
Investors are expecting U.S. government support to continue even after Thursday’s positive economic data. The U.S. GDP rose 6.4% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2021 and 553,000 initial jobless claims were filed over the past week.
They also continue to digest President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.8 trillion social package and infrastructure plans, as well as the Federal Reserve’s continued dovish monetary policy.
“All evidence still points to continued support from both fiscal and monetary policy against a backdrop of accelerating corporate earnings,” UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer Mark Haefele told Bloomberg.
“This reinforces our view that markets can advance further, with cyclical parts of the market -- such as financials, energy, and value stocks -- likely to benefit most from the global upswing,” he added.