Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as investors react to economic data releases

   

ASIA MARKETS

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as investors react to economic data releases

PUBLISHED WED, SEP 2 2020 7:41 PM EDT

UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Eustance Huang

@EUSTANCEHUANG

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KEY POINTS

• A private survey released Thursday showed China's services sector activity expanding in August. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managing Index (PMI) came in at 54.0, as compared to July's reading of 54.1.

• Trade data for July released Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed exports declining 4% month-on-month. Imports, meanwhile, saw a 7% increase in July as compared to the previous month.

• Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.5% to end its trading day at 3,580.84 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 1% higher at 12,056.44. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, with the Nasdaq topping 12,000 for the first time

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to regional economic data releases.

Mainland Chinese stocks were lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.58% to around 3,384.98 while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.828% to about 13,772.37. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 0.49% lower, as of its final hour of trading.

A private survey showed China's services sector activity expanding in August. The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managing Index (PMI) came in at 54.0, as compared to July's reading of 54.1.

PMI readings above 50 signify expansion, while those below that level represent contraction. The readings are sequential and indicate on-month expansion or contraction.

Following the PMI data release, the onshore Chinese yuan traded at 6.8342 against the greenback after an earlier low of 6.8445 per dollar. The Chinese currency's offshore counterpart changed hands at 6.8361 per dollar.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.33% on the day to 2,395.90. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.94% to close at 23,465.53 while the Topix index also gained 0.48% to end its trading day at 1,631.24.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia closed 0.81% higher at 6,112.60. The moves came as Australian Bureau of Statistics trade data for July showed exports declining 4% month-on-month. Imports, meanwhile, saw a 7% increase in July as compared to the previous month.

On the back of that data, the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7306, having slipped yesterday from levels above $0.735.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index dipped 0.11%.

TICKER COMPANY NAME PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE

.N225

Nikkei 225 Index NIKKEI 23,465.53 +218.38 +0.94%

.HSI

Hang Seng Index HSI 25,007.60 -112.49 -0.45%

.AXJO

S&P/ASX 200 ASX 200 6,112.60 +49.40 +0.81%

.SSEC

Shanghai SHANGHAI 3,384.98 -19.82 -0.58%

.KS11

KOSPI Index KOSPI 2,395.90 +31.53 +1.33%

.FTFCNBCA

CNBC 100 ASIA IDX CNBC 100 9,252.98 +0.33 0.00%

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.5% to end its trading day at 3,580.84 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 1% higher at 12,056.44. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, with the Nasdaq topping 12,000 for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw its first close above 29,000 since February as it advanced 454.84 points, or 1.6%, to close at 29,100.50.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.021 following its bounce from levels below 92 seen earlier this week. 

The Japanese yen traded at 106.20 per dollar after weakening from levels around 106 against the greenback yesterday.

Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1.06% at $43.96 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.79% to $41.18 per barrel.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

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