The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with projections on the opening night of Vivid Sydney 2023 in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday as China’s factory activity fell into contraction territory for the first time since April, according to the Caixin survey compiled by S&P Global.
The purchasing managers index came in at 49.2 in July, compared with 50.3 expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
This comes a day after official data showed that the country’s factory activity remained in contraction territory for a fourth straight month.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.63% higher, but mainland Chinese markets bucked the trend and were all in negative territory. The Shanghai Composite was down marginally and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.1%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.25%, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision. Economists polled by Reuters are expecting a 25 basis points hike in its benchmark policy rate to 4.35%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.45%, while the Topix gained 0.39% as the country saw its unemployment rate fall slightly to 2.5% in June.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.13% and the Kosdaq gained 1.19%.