Asia-Pacific markets fell Tuesday as China’s manufacturing growth missed expectations, but the country’s benchmark CSI 300 closed the year higher, ending three years of losses.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which ended a shortened trading day marginally higher at 20,059.95, also snapped a four-year losing streak with gains of nearly 18% in 2024.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.6% to close the day at 3,934.91, but ended the year with annual gains of about 15% after posting losses in 2023, 2022 and 2021.
China’s purchasing managers’ index for December came in at 50.1, missing expectations, signaling that Beijing’s stimulus measures were not sufficient to meaningfully boost the country’s ailing economy.
Analysts polled by Reuters forecast a reading of 50.3, the same as November PMI. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a figure below that level points to contraction.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.92% to close at 8,159.1 on a shortened trading day. It extended gains to a second straight year, advancing 8.5% in 2024.
Taiwan’s Taiex led annual gains among Asian markets, advancing more than 29% in 2024. The index fell 0.67% to 23,035.10 on Tuesday.
Japan and South Korea’s stock markets were closed for the New Year’s Eve holiday. South Korea’s consumer inflation accelerated in December, rising 1.9% year on year. CPI came in at 1.5% in November. On a month-on-month basis prices rose 0.4% this month.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks moved lower as a banner year for investors appeared to be ending on a sour note.
Trading was choppy throughout the day, and the Dow was down more than 700 points at session lows. There was no apparent news catalyst for Monday’s decline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 418.48 points, or 0.97%, to close at 42,573.73. The S&P 500 fell 1.07% to 5,906.94, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.19% to 19,486.78.
—CNBC’s Vinay Dwivedi, Jesse Pound and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC