Asia-Pacific stocks lower; data shows China’s factory activity contracted again in May

Key Points

• Asia-Pacific stocks traded lower on Tuesday morning.
• China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May came in at 49.6, an improvement over April’s reading of 47.4 but still below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
• Markets on Wall Street were closed on Monday for a holiday.

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were lower in Tuesday morning trade as investors watched for market reaction to the release of official Chinese factory activity data for May.

Mainland Chinese stocks nudged lower as the Shanghai Composite sat below the flatline while the Shenzhen Component dipped 0.135%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.15% lower.

China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May came in at 49.6, an improvement over April’s reading of 47.4.

The May reading was above the 48.6 level expected from a Reuters poll but still below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. PMI readings are sequential and represent month-on-month expansion or contraction.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan dipped 0.27% while the Topix index declined 0.29%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi shed 0.08%.

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Australian stocks were lower as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.29%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.27% lower.

Markets in the U.S. were closed on Monday for a holiday.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	27323.46	-45.97	-0.17
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	21122.29	-1.64	-0.01
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7268.7	-17.9	-0.25
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3154.75	5.69	0.18
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2669.9	0.24	0.01
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	8670.26	-37.81	-0.43

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 101.675 — still off levels above 102 seen last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 128.18 per dollar following yesterday’s weakening from levels below 127.2 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was at $0.7168, continuing to move higher after climbing from levels below $0.71 last week.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures gaining 0.62% to $122.43 per barrel. U.S. crude futures jumped 2.12% to $117.51 per barrel.

Source : CNBC