Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday, paring earlier gains as concerns over the global economy lingered following the release of a pair of conflicting reports on Chinese manufacturing activity.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index dipped 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.2%.
Asian equities were higher after the open as market participants cheered a report showing Chinese manufacturing gained momentum in March.
The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Sunday that its purchasing managers index rose 2.1 points to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, up from February's 51.0. A reading above 50 signifies expansion.
However, a separate report from HSBC showed that manufacturing activity in the Asian nation contracted for the fifth consecutive month and recorded its lowest average reading in three years during the first quarter.
The conflicting data was not enough to offset recent worries about the heath of the Chinese economy.
Shares in Hong Kong came under pressure, dragged down by a corruption scandal involving Sun Hung Kai Properties, the Chinese financial hub's largest property developer.
The real estate firm lost 3.1%, extending Friday’s 13% plunge after the company's chairmen, billionaire brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok, were arrested Thursday on bribery charges.
Elsewhere across the sector, New World Development saw shares drop 3.65%, while China Resources Land fell 1.2%.
Financial sector stocks came under pressure after Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said policy makers will continue to take steps to stabilize prices.
Vice Premier Li added that he doesn’t see a change in the nation’s economic development, saying that China will maintain growth and stabilize prices as it speeds up a shift in the country’s expansion model.
Meanwhile, shares in Aluminum Corporation of China, or CHALCO, slumped 2.4% after reports surfaced that the company is bidding for a controlling stake of up to 60% of Mongolia-focused miner SouthGobi Resources. SouthGobi shares surged 16.7% on the news.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei was higher as shares in the financial sector gained in the back of a report saying that Japan’s top three banks were on track to post a combined profit of around JPY2 trillion for the fiscal year that ended March 31, up 30% from the year-ago period.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Holdings Group shares rose 3.4%, Nomura Holdings jumped 2.45%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 1.75%.
Exporters were higher, boosted by a softening yen, which increases the value of repatriated profits and helps lower prices of Japanese goods sold overseas. Consumer electronics giant Sony added 0.75%, while automaker Honda climbed 2.1%.
Hitachi jumped 3.6%, a day after announcing it concluded an agreement with the Lithuanian government to build a nuclear power plant, Kyodo News agency said.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures edged up 0.25%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.35% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on the unemployment rate, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index dipped 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.2%.
Asian equities were higher after the open as market participants cheered a report showing Chinese manufacturing gained momentum in March.
The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Sunday that its purchasing managers index rose 2.1 points to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, up from February's 51.0. A reading above 50 signifies expansion.
However, a separate report from HSBC showed that manufacturing activity in the Asian nation contracted for the fifth consecutive month and recorded its lowest average reading in three years during the first quarter.
The conflicting data was not enough to offset recent worries about the heath of the Chinese economy.
Shares in Hong Kong came under pressure, dragged down by a corruption scandal involving Sun Hung Kai Properties, the Chinese financial hub's largest property developer.
The real estate firm lost 3.1%, extending Friday’s 13% plunge after the company's chairmen, billionaire brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok, were arrested Thursday on bribery charges.
Elsewhere across the sector, New World Development saw shares drop 3.65%, while China Resources Land fell 1.2%.
Financial sector stocks came under pressure after Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said policy makers will continue to take steps to stabilize prices.
Vice Premier Li added that he doesn’t see a change in the nation’s economic development, saying that China will maintain growth and stabilize prices as it speeds up a shift in the country’s expansion model.
Meanwhile, shares in Aluminum Corporation of China, or CHALCO, slumped 2.4% after reports surfaced that the company is bidding for a controlling stake of up to 60% of Mongolia-focused miner SouthGobi Resources. SouthGobi shares surged 16.7% on the news.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei was higher as shares in the financial sector gained in the back of a report saying that Japan’s top three banks were on track to post a combined profit of around JPY2 trillion for the fiscal year that ended March 31, up 30% from the year-ago period.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Holdings Group shares rose 3.4%, Nomura Holdings jumped 2.45%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 1.75%.
Exporters were higher, boosted by a softening yen, which increases the value of repatriated profits and helps lower prices of Japanese goods sold overseas. Consumer electronics giant Sony added 0.75%, while automaker Honda climbed 2.1%.
Hitachi jumped 3.6%, a day after announcing it concluded an agreement with the Lithuanian government to build a nuclear power plant, Kyodo News agency said.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures edged up 0.25%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.35% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on the unemployment rate, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.