Asian Shares Burdened By China Worries Even As U.S. Earnings Rise

Asian stocks started the week higher Monday, even as China reported a slowdown in manufacturing activity and countries in the region continued to be hammered by the delta variant, Annabelle Liang reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Stock market display in Hong Kong

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.7% to 27,742.28, while the Kospi in Seoul rose 0.1% to 3,205.43. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.9% to 26,189.44 after being in the red for much of the morning.

The Shanghai Composite index added 0.7% to 3,422.64, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.5% at 7,501.20. The benchmark in Malaysia rose while those in Singapore and Indonesia fell.

The gains in China follow data released Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics showing the country’s official purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.4 in July from 50.9 in June.

Numbers above 50 indicate expansion on the 100-point scale. On Monday, a monthly manufacturing survey issued by a business magazine, Caixin, put July’s reading at 50.3. That was down from June’s 51.3.

The official figure was the lowest since February 2020, when a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was in place. Analysts had expected a smaller easing of manufacturing activity. China is also dealing with an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus, which has already been running rampant in many other Asian nations.

On Wall Street on Friday, indices stumbled while wrapping up another strong month. The S&P 500, which marked six straight months of gains, lost 0.5% to 4,395.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.4% to 34,935.47.

The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.7% to 14,672.68. In other trading, US benchmark crude oil lost 98 cents to $72.97 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil declined $1.11 to $74.30.

The US dollar rose to 109.69 Japanese yen from 109.62 yen on Friday. The euro advanced to $1.1878 from $1.1875.

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