On Monday morning (2 September, 9:37 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific decreased as investors digested China’s business activity statistics disclosed over the weekend, with a multitude of data expected later this week.
China’s manufacturing PMI in August dropped to a six-month low of 49.1, indicating a quicker decline compared to July’s 49.4 level, below the average estimate of 49.5 provided by economists surveyed by Reuters and marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction for the index. Conversely, the non-manufacturing PMI increased to 50.3, surpassing July’s 50.2 reading.
Upcoming economic data from key markets in the region includes inflation figures from South Korea, Australia’s second-quarter GDP data, along with data on wages and household expenditure from Japan, all set to be released later this week.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.25% to 38,746.14. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed by 0.01% to 2,674.59, while Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.23% to 8,072.9.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.6% to 2,825.16. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 1.63% to 17,695.1, and Shenzhen’s SZI lost 1.38% to 8,233.44.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.55% to 41,563.08. NASDAQ jumped by 1.13% to 17,713.62, and S&P 500 grew by 1.01% to 5,648.4. VIX plummeted by 4.15% to 15.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday as investors considered the likelihood of an uptick in OPEC+ supply commencing in October, coupled with diminishing prospects of a substantial interest rate reduction in the U.S. next month. This sentiment followed data indicating robust consumer spending. Brent futures for October dropped $1.14 or 1.43% to settle at $78.80 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slumped $2.36 or 3.11% to settle at $73.55 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures for November contracted 65 cents or 0.84% to $76.28 a barrel, and the WTI decreased 59 cents or 0.8% to $72.96 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid by 0.04% to $2,526.5 per Troy ounce.
