Chinese Factories Expand in May; Stocks Mixed in Asia-Pacific

Shares in the major areas of Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as on Tuesday trades and as investors responded to the release of a survey conducted privately on the Chinese manufacturing activities in the month of May.

The Continental Chinese stocks were assorted by the afternoon, along with the Shanghai Composite, which was down to 0.11%, and the Shenzhen component was slightly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has risen up to 0.43%.

The Caixin or Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI for the month of May came in at 52, which was higher than the expectations for a reading of 51.9 by the experts in a Reuters poll.The figure for May was also compared against April’s readings which were of 51.9.

The official manufacturing of PMI for May was released on Monday. It came in 51.0, which was again somewhat lower than the expectations for a reading of 51.1 in the Reuters poll. The PMI readings, which are above 50, represent the expansion, while those which are below 50 levels indicate contraction. The PMI readings are chronological and represent monthly expansion or contraction based on the observed readings.

Japan’s Nikkei 25 glided and sat below the flatline in the afternoon trade while the Topix index was framed around 0.15% higher. South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.58%. Malaysia’s prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Monday that an extra 40 billion ringgit which is around $9.7 billion stimulus package, just hours before the firmer lockdown measures were taken to control the Covid spread in the country. MSCI’s largest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan has risen to 0.43%.