
Please try another search
By Ambar Warrick
Investing.com-- China’s blue-chip index led gains among Asian stocks on Monday, recovering from its lowest level since mid-June as data showed service sector activity in the country continued to expand despite a slowdown in manufacturing.
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 blue-chip index was up 0.6% as of 12:54 am ET (0454 GMT), with consumer-oriented service sector stocks gaining the most. Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd (SS:600600), Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp Ltd (SS:600418) and Citic Guoan Wine Co Ltd (SS:600084) were among the best performers on the index, rising between 7% and 10%.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.1%,
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.7%, while FTSE Malaysia KLCI and Thailand's SET Index added 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%.
Government data on Sunday showed that China’s service sector continued to expand through July, albeit at a slower pace. But this still helped offset an unexpected contraction in manufacturing activity.
China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index was 53.8 in July, compared to 54.7 in June. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
“This shows a continual recovery of services after lockdowns were lifted in early June. Since then, China has adopted a more flexible approach on Covid testing and quarantines, which also helps the recovery of services,” analysts at ING wrote in a note.
“We expect these service industries to keep expanding in August as summer holiday travels within China should boost services activities.”
But China’s key manufacturing sector shrank in July, largely due to disruptions in the property market. New home prices and sales also dropped through the month.
Blue-chip property stocks were the worst performers on Monday, with majors such as Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd (SS:600170), Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd (SS:600048) and Gemdale Corp (SS:600383) dropping between 3% and 5%.
The sector was also rattled by China Evergrande saying that one of its units would have to pay 7.2 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) to a guarantor over its debt obligations.
In broader Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI Index traded flat after data showed the country’s trade deficit widened substantially in July.
The Taiwan Weighted benchmark dropped 0.4% as sentiment turned sour over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to the island. China has strongly opposed the trip.
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding invested in Russian energy groups Gazprom (MCX:GAZP), Rosneft and Lukoil between Feb. 22 and March 22, it said on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) on...
By Rebecca Rubin LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Is everyone on vacation? That would be one plausible explanation behind the great box office slowdown. Although three new movies...
By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's main opposition Labour Party will call for the energy price cap to be frozen this autumn, a party source said, to help the public...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.