BANGKOK (AP) – Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, with Shanghai stocks up 1% after a survey showed improving conditions in China’s manufacturing industry.
Sydney and Hong Kong were closed for the Easter Monday public holiday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.4% to 39,803.09 yen. Bank of Japan Quarterly Survey A survey of business conditions showed sentiment among major manufacturers, including auto and electronics giants, fell for the first time in a year in March.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1% to 3,070.09.
Announced by the National Bureau of Statistics of China survey data The country’s official manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) stood at 50.8 in March, the highest since March 2023, according to an announcement on Sunday.
A similar but separate survey, the Caixin/S&P Global China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, hit 51.1 in March, its highest level since February 2023. In February it was 50.9.
“Chinese manufacturers increased production while also raising purchasing levels amid improving optimism,” the report said.
“A number of policies introduced earlier this year aimed at stabilizing growth are gradually taking effect,” Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a statement.
China’s economic growth target of “about 5%” is “ambitious”, he said. He added that efforts will be needed to make growth more efficient and improve its quality, given the pressures holding down employment and keeping prices low.
of World Bank releases report The report predicts economic growth in developing countries in East Asia and the Pacific will be 4.5% this year, down from 5.1% in 2023. The report predicts that China’s economy will expand at an annual rate of 4.5% this year, down from 5.2% in 2023.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rose less than 0.1% to 2,747.86 and India’s Sensex rose 0.6%. In Bangkok, the SET rose 0.2%.
Markets in the United States and Europe were closed on Friday. European markets will remain closed on Monday, but U.S. markets will reopen.
On Thursday, Wall Street broke another record, regaining momentum from its most recent winning month and quarter. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, hitting a new record high set the day before.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 39,807.37, also setting a record. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% to 16,379.46.
In other trading, the dollar rose to 151.40 yen from 151.29 yen. The euro fell slightly from $1.0794 to $1.0784.
A number of U.S. economic indicators are scheduled to be released this week, including trade, unemployment claims, auto sales, non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate.
The U.S. stock market has been on a nearly unstoppable rally since late October, with the S&P 500 just posting its fifth consecutive month of victories. Stocks soared as the U.S. economy remained remarkably strong despite high interest rates aimed at curbing inflation.
And with inflation hopefully still cooling from its peak, the Federal Reserve Interest rate cut likely Several times later this year.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 26 cents to $83.43 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was up $1.82 a barrel on Thursday, before the market closed for Good Friday and Easter.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 23 cents to $87.23 per barrel. It rose $1.59 on Thursday to $87.00 per barrel.
