Data released this morning from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed a decline in the manufacturing purchasing managers index in September to below 50 points for the first time since last February, recording 49.6, compared to 50.1 in the August reading and less than expectations that indicated a decline to 50 as The sector was affected in the second largest economy in the world by the rise in raw materials and the electricity crisis.
On the other hand, the non-manufacturing or services index rose to 53.2 compared to 47.5 in August, better than expectations that it had risen to 50.
The PMI Caixin manufacturing index rose from 49.2 in August to 50 in September, the third lowest reading in the last 17 months. From Japan, the Japanese industrial production index contracted in August by 3.2%, compared to -1.5% in July, which came worse than expectations that indicated a decline of about 0.5%.
The Japanese yen is trading against the US dollar at 111.89 levels this Thursday morning, after testing 112.07 levels during the Asian session, to continue trading at its lowest level since February of last year, affected by the US dollar’s rise.
In terms of the movement of Asian stocks, they are trading in contrast between the Chinese and Japanese markets moments before the closing, as the Chinese markets are trading on the rise, with the exception of the hang seng index, which is down by about 0.56% and is trading at levels of 24.527.
The Shanghai se compsite index and the most important Shanghai CSI 300 index in China are trading up by 0.80% and 0.72%, respectively.
The main index of the Japanese stock market Nikkei 225 is trading down by about 0.05% at levels of 29.533 points, while the Topix index is down by about 0.10% and is trading at levels of 2.036.