Major Markets and Chinese Manufacturing Data

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March 2, 2020

John Marley

On Monday, a private survey showed that factory activity in China declined to a record low in February. Despite this news, major markets in Asia strengthened their positions. It is an important moment as during the last week; markets across the region had to deal with issues.

On March 2, mainland Chinese stocks saw gains on the day. For example, 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.

Another Chinese stock index also strengthened its positions. The Shenzhen composite added 3.769% to approximately 1,869.65.

Hopefully, 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. Moreover, the result was much lower than expected. As based on the Reuters poll index was expected to 45.7.

For example, PMI in January was 51.1. Importantly, the 50-point level in PMI readings separates growth from contraction.

On Saturday, 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.

Markets and virus outbreak

As mentioned above, major markets rose despite all the problems. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.95% to end its trading day at 21,344.08.

South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.78% to close at 2,002.51. In the Asia Pacific region, the situation was different as Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.77% to close at 6,391.50.

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At the same time, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index dropped 0.44% in afternoon trades. In neighboring Indonesia, Jakarta Composite also declined more than 1% due to the coronavirus.

Coronavirus outbreak continues to affect the stock markets around the world. The international community is trying to tackle this problem. However, it is hard to say when this problem will disappear.