Investing.com - Asian shares weakened in light trade Thursday, starting the New Year with Japan markets shut for a holiday and muted data out of China.
The Shanghai Composite index ended the morning down 0.44% and the neighboring Hang Seng index fell 0.25% after a private survey showed manufacturing on the mainland held onto expansionary territory in December.
The December HSBC China Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.5, unchanged from the flash reading and on forecast. China is the top export destination for key Australian commodities such as iron ore.
"The moderation of December's final HSBC China Manufacturing PMI was mainly due to slower output growth," said Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC.
"However, the final PMI sustained the fifth above-50 reading in a row thanks to a steady increase of new orders. The recovering momentum since August 2013 is continuing into 2014, in our view. With inflation still benign, we expect the current monetary and fiscal policy to remain in place to support growth."
At the end of 2013 U.S. stock prices posted their biggest gains since 1997 this year and rose on Tuesday, the last trading day of 2013, after a widely-watched consumer confidence barometer beat expectations and fueled hopes 2014 will see more robust economic growth and improving corporate fundamentals.
The Conference Board reported earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence improved to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November, beating consensus forecasts for a 76.0 reading.
Stocks applauded the data as well as better-than-expected numbers out of the U.S. housing sector.
Also Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose at an annualized rate of 13.6% in October from a year earlier, the strongest pace since February of 2006 and above forecasts for an increase of 13.0%.
Investors shrugged off industry data revealing that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index fell to a seasonally adjusted 59.1 this month from 63.0 in November. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 61.0 in December.
Hopes U.S. growth rates and fourth-quarter earnings will meet or beat expectations fueled the rally as well.
European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.47%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.39%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.26%.
The Shanghai Composite index ended the morning down 0.44% and the neighboring Hang Seng index fell 0.25% after a private survey showed manufacturing on the mainland held onto expansionary territory in December.
The December HSBC China Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.5, unchanged from the flash reading and on forecast. China is the top export destination for key Australian commodities such as iron ore.
"The moderation of December's final HSBC China Manufacturing PMI was mainly due to slower output growth," said Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC.
"However, the final PMI sustained the fifth above-50 reading in a row thanks to a steady increase of new orders. The recovering momentum since August 2013 is continuing into 2014, in our view. With inflation still benign, we expect the current monetary and fiscal policy to remain in place to support growth."
At the end of 2013 U.S. stock prices posted their biggest gains since 1997 this year and rose on Tuesday, the last trading day of 2013, after a widely-watched consumer confidence barometer beat expectations and fueled hopes 2014 will see more robust economic growth and improving corporate fundamentals.
The Conference Board reported earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence improved to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November, beating consensus forecasts for a 76.0 reading.
Stocks applauded the data as well as better-than-expected numbers out of the U.S. housing sector.
Also Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose at an annualized rate of 13.6% in October from a year earlier, the strongest pace since February of 2006 and above forecasts for an increase of 13.0%.
Investors shrugged off industry data revealing that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index fell to a seasonally adjusted 59.1 this month from 63.0 in November. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 61.0 in December.
Hopes U.S. growth rates and fourth-quarter earnings will meet or beat expectations fueled the rally as well.
European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.19%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.47%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.39%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.26%.