Asian Shares Mixed On Chinese Data

Asian stocks ended Thursday’s session on a mixed note after the U.S. Senate announced it would vote on a stopgap funding bill later in the day to prevent a government shutdown.

Inflation and tightening concerns persisted despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his counterparts at the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of England voicing cautious optimism that supply-chain disruptions driving higher inflation around the world would ultimately prove temporary.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 31.87 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,568.17 after the release of mixed economic data.

Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted in September due to “low sentiment of high energy-consuming industries,” but the services sector bounced back strongly from coronavirus outbreaks last month, separate reports showed.

A private gauge of China’s manufacturing sector improved in the month after slipping into contraction in August.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended down 87.86 points, or 0.4 percent, at 24,575.64 after reports that China Evergrande Group missed paying bond interest due on Wednesday.

Japanese shares ended a tad lower as retail sales and factory activity data disappointed and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party appointed a new leader, who is set to become the country’s new prime minister.

The Nikkei 225 Index dipped 91.63 points, or 0.3 percent, to 29,452.66 but posted a monthly gain of 4.9 percent on hopes for political change and stimulus.

The broader Topix ended 0.4 percent lower at 2,030.16 but closed out September with a monthly rise of 3.5 percent, its biggest since March.

Tech shares led losses on the day, with Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group ending down 2.6 percent 3 percent, respectively. Advantest fell 1.8 percent and Screen Holdings declined 1.6 percent.

Australian markets posted strong gains to snap a two-session losing streak, with heavyweight miners and financials leading advances.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 135.50 points, or 1.9 percent, to finish at 7,332.20 after data showed Australia’s new housing pipeline unexpectedly grew in August. The broader All Ordinaries Index rallied 129.50 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 7,629.70.

The big four banks rose 2-3 percent, while mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto both jumped around 3.4 percent each. Diversified miner South32 soared 4.1 percent after saying it will increase its stake Mozambique-based Mozal Aluminium.

Zip Co. rose 1.3 percent on news the buy-now-pay-later company is teaming up with technology giant Microsoft to integrate technologies.

Seoul stocks snapped a two-day losing streak even as separate reports showed the country’s industrial output, retail sales and investment declined in August from the previous month.

The benchmark Kospi rose 8.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,068.82 as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is willing to restore severed inter-Korean hotlines by early October. Leading chemical firm LG Chem rose 1.2 percent and chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 3 percent.

New Zealand shares rose sharply, with healthcare and real estate stocks leading the surge. The benchmark NZX-50 Index shot up 155.97 points, or 1.2 percent, to 13,275.76. In economic news, building permits data for August beat forecasts.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight, as a gauge of U.S. pending home sales jumped in August to a seven-month high and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned inflation could be held up longer than previously thought due to supply chain problems.

The Dow rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent as the ten-year yield reached a new three-month closing high.

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