TOKYO: Most Asian stocks declined on Monday in late morning trade amid concern about the strength of US economic growth and as investors awaited manufacturing data from China.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.16% to 151 as of 11:40 a.m. in Tokyo after opening lower in early trade. Japan’s Topix index slid 0.7%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.2%. South Korea’s Kospi index retreated 0.4%. Markets in Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand are closed for holidays.
China stocks, however, bucked the regional trend. The Hang Seng and Shanghai bourses opened lower but turned positive in early trading. In China, Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.85%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.29%.
In corporate news, shares of Chinese broker Huatai, the biggest IPO in Asia so far this year, opened flat but are trending five percent higher.
Economic data showed China’s official manufacturing PMI came in at 50.2, in line with forecasts, and rose slightly from April’s 50.1. The services PMI fell slightly, to 53.2, from 53.4 in April. A little later, the China final HSBC PMI was released in at 49.2, down for the third straight month.
In commodities market, copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.4% to $6,037.50 a metric tonne. Prices on Friday slid 1.3% to cap the first monthly loss since January.
Brent fell 0.8% to $65.07 a barrel after jumping 4.8% on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.8% to $59.82 following its 11th straight weekly gain, the longest rally on record.
