Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Monday with Sydney gaining on solid manufacturing figures domestically and a private survey in China.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.86%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.86%. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.49%.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI came in at 50.6, well above a reading of 48.7 expected for July, which was up a tad from 48.6 the previous month.
Earlier, in China, the semi-official manufacturing PMI published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing for July rose to 49.9. just missing the expected expansion level of 50. The CFLP non-manufacturing PMI reached 53.9, with last month's level at 53.7.
As well, Australia said the AIG manufacturing index for July spiked to 56.4, compared with last month's figure at 51.8. The index rose further in July for the 13th month in a row and marking the longest period of expansion in over a decade. The recovery was mainly due to stronger exports and import replacements, which were helped by a more competitive exchange rate. HIA new home sales for June gained 8.2%, compared with the last figure down 4.4% month-on-month.
Last week, U.S. stocks remained stuck in a tight, range-bound trade on Friday, continuing a trend of sideways trading that has persisted over the last two weeks, as the major indices ended July in near record-territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 24.11 or 0.13% to 18,432.24, suffering its fifth consecutive losing session. The Dow was dragged down by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:NYSE:XOM), which fell more than 1% on the day after reporting its worst quarterly profits in 17 years. For an eight-day period earlier in the month, the Dow hit all-time and record closing highs on every session during the streak, as jittery investors in the euro area sought safety in U.S. equities. Overall, the Dow surged approximately 3% on the month.
The NASDAQ Composite index gained 7.15 or 0.14% to 5,162.13 on Friday, closing at a 52-week high. The NASDAQ has received a boost in recent days from stellar earnings among leading large-cap stocks such as Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:FB). In the last month, stocks in the technology sector have jumped nearly 8%. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, added 3.54 or 0.16% to 2,173.60, ending the session at a record closing high.
On the S&P 500, seven of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Telecom, Consumer Goods and Utilities industries led. Stocks in the Industrials, Financials and Consumer Services sectors lagged, each closing lower for the session. On the month, every sector on the S&P 500 closed higher with the exception of the Energy industry.