Asian shares inch higher after upbeat Chinese data
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Sydney/New York — Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday after strong readings on China’s vast manufacturing sector offset the weak lead from a softer Wall Street session.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, to regain some ground it had lost on Monday.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong traded 0.18% higher while the Shanghai Composite also recovered early losses to stand 0.1% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased early losses to trade flat.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) showed China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest clip in nearly a decade in August, bolstered by the first increase in new export orders in 2020.
“What we are seeing here is the slow but choppy export recovery that is taking a bit longer than maybe some market participants thought it would — and that’s because markets remain largely out of sync,” said Daniel Gerard, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets, based in Singapore.
“September is also going to be a choppy recovery, and until we get closer to more news about a vaccine it’s going to remain that way.”
Taiwan stocks gained 0.5% after the US said on Monday it was establishing a new bilateral economic dialogue with the country, an initiative it said was designed to support Taipei.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was an outlier, declining 2.4% to four-week lows on rising diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended in the red overnight, while the Nasdaq rose solidly.
The S&P gained more than 7% for the month to notch its best August since 1986 in what is traditionally a softer month for stock performance.
Wall Street declines overnight were mostly caused by month-end portfolio rebalancing “rather than a new trend in equities”, said Rodrigo Catril, senior forex strategist at NAB Market Research in Sydney.
The Nasdaq fared even better than the S&P for the month, up nearly 10% as it rallied for a fifth consecutive month.
In currencies, the dollar dropped against a basket of major currencies early on Tuesday. The dollar index fell 0.4%, with the euro up 0.5% to $1.1993.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% vs the greenback at ¥105.63 to the dollar, while the pound was last trading at $1.3410, up 0.3% on the day.
The expectation that the Fed will keep interest rates low for an extended ...
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, to regain some ground it had lost on Monday.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong traded 0.18% higher while the Shanghai Composite also recovered early losses to stand 0.1% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased early losses to trade flat.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) showed China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest clip in nearly a decade in August, bolstered by the first increase in new export orders in 2020.
“What we are seeing here is the slow but choppy export recovery that is taking a bit longer than maybe some market participants thought it would — and that’s because markets remain largely out of sync,” said Daniel Gerard, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets, based in Singapore.
“September is also going to be a choppy recovery, and until we get closer to more news about a vaccine it’s going to remain that way.”
Taiwan stocks gained 0.5% after the US said on Monday it was establishing a new bilateral economic dialogue with the country, an initiative it said was designed to support Taipei.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was an outlier, declining 2.4% to four-week lows on rising diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended in the red overnight, while the Nasdaq rose solidly.
The S&P gained more than 7% for the month to notch its best August since 1986 in what is traditionally a softer month for stock performance.
Wall Street declines overnight were mostly caused by month-end portfolio rebalancing “rather than a new trend in equities”, said Rodrigo Catril, senior forex strategist at NAB Market Research in Sydney.
The Nasdaq fared even better than the S&P for the month, up nearly 10% as it rallied for a fifth consecutive month.
In currencies, the dollar dropped against a basket of major currencies early on Tuesday. The dollar index fell 0.4%, with the euro up 0.5% to $1.1993.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% vs the greenback at ¥105.63 to the dollar, while the pound was last trading at $1.3410, up 0.3% on the day.
The expectation that the Fed will keep interest rates low for an extended ...