Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday as investors awaited new data on China’s manufacturing activity and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) began its two-day policy meeting.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5%, while Japan’s markets remained closed for a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi 200 rose 1.4%.
Attention in the region was focused on China’s latest purchasing managers index (PMI) from RatingDog, due later today.
Economists expect a reading of 50.9 for October, down slightly from September’s 51.2. However, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics earlier showed that China’s manufacturing activity contracted to a six-month low of 49.0, suggesting renewed pressure on the world’s second-largest economy.
The RBA began its monetary policy meeting today, with markets expecting policymakers to keep rates on hold following hotter-than-expected third-quarter inflation data.
Economic data released this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed household spending rose 0.2% in September, slightly below expectations of a 0.3% increase.
Meanwhile, building approvals surged 12% to 17,019 dwellings, far exceeding forecasts of a 5.5% rise.
Market sentiment was cautious after Wall Street ended the previous week on a high note, with all three major U.S. indexes closing higher on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.6%.
In commodities, Brent crude slipped 0.6% to settle at US$64.77 per barrel, while spot gold eased 0.5% to US$4,002.81 per ounce.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% to 3,954.8 on Friday, while the CSI 300 dropped 1.5% to 4,640.7.
Elsewhere, India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.6% to 83,938.7, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4%.
In Europe, Friday’s session ended in the red, with the FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 9,717.3, Germany’s DAX slipping 0.7% to 23,958.3, and France’s CAC 40 easing 0.4% to 8,121.1.
