Asian Stocks and Chinese Factories

Yesterday, despite all the problems stocks in Asia had a positive day.  For example, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.95% to end its trading day at 21,344.08.

Moreover, South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.78% to close at 2,002.51.

Unfortunately, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.77% to close at 6,391.50.

In the meantime, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index fell 0.44% in afternoon trade. In neighboring Indonesia, Jakarta Composite also declined more than 1% due to the coronavirus.

Coronavirus outbreak continues to affect the stocks in different parts of the world. The international community is trying to tackle this problem.

Stocks on March 2

On March 2, a private survey showed that factory activity in China declined to a record low in February.

Nevertheless, stocks in Asia strengthened their positions. It is a crucial moment as, during the last week, markets across the region had to cope with problems related to coronavirus.

Mainland Chinese stocks saw gains on the day. For instance, the Shanghai composite rose 3.15% to about 2,970.93. At the same time, the Shenzhen component gained 3.65% to 11,381.76.

The Shenzhen composite added 3.769% to approximately 1,869.65.

Positively, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also followed the footsteps of mainland Chinese stocks. Hang Seng index gained 0.75% as of its final hour of trading.

The Markit/Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 40.3. Furthermore, the result was much lower than expected. According to Reuters, the poll index was expected to reach 45.7. In January, PMI in January was 51.1.

It is important to keep in mind that the 50-point level in PMI readings separates growth from contraction.

Several days ago, the National Bureau of Statistics released the official. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index was even lower. According to the bureau, PMI fell to 35.7 in February.

In spite of the coronavirus outbreak and other issues related to the outbreak, stocks in Asia defied all the problems.