Investing.com - Asian shares traded mixed on Thursday after manufacturing surveys showed a gain in Japan, but weaker views in China.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.87% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.05% in Asia while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.42%.
China's Caixin manufacturing PMI for May came in at 49.6, marking an 11-month low and slipping into contraction as it missed a level of 50.1 seen.
"China's manufacturing sector has come under greater pressure in May and the economy is clearly on a downward trajectory," Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, said in a note accompanying the Caixin survey.
Demand faltered in May as total new orders fell to 50.3 - the lowest level in 11 months - from the previous month's 51.0. The rate of expansion in new export orders also weakened significantly, showing only marginal growth.
Also on Thursday, Japan reported its manufacturing PMI rose to 53.1, beating an estimate of 52.0 that would have been steady with April.
Earlier in Australia, first quarter private capital expenditure rose 0.3%, below the 0.8% gain seen quarter-on-quarter and retail sales for April gained 1.0%, beating a 0.3% increase expected month-on-month.
On Wednesday, China reported official manufacturing PMI for May at 51.2, compared with a level of 51.0 seen, and steady with 51.2 in April. The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 54.5, up from a level last at 54.0 in April. A figure above 50 denotes expansion.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, led by a slump in financials, amid economic data signalling that a slowdown in inflation could dampened the Federal Reserve's outlook concerning longer-term rate hikes.
Financials, mostly banks, came under pressure as a raft of soft economic data led investors to question whether the Federal Reserve would maintain its stance of three total rate hikes in 2017, with the second rate hike widely expected in June.
Investor concern about a slowdown in inflation rose on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, revealed that “"some districts noted falling prices for certain final goods, including groceries, apparel and autos".
The beige report followed a duo of economic reports, showing U.S. Midwest manufacturing fell more than forecast in May from its strongest level in more than two years while continued tightening in the number of homes available for sale weighed on U.S. pending home sales.
The Chicago Purchasing Management Index, also known as the Chicago Business Barometer, fell to 55.2 from April's 58.3 which was the highest level since January 2015. Analysts had expected a reading of 57.0 for May.
In a separate report, The National Association of Realtors said U.S. pending home sales, a forward looking measure of US home sales, fell 1.3% in April.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down at 21,008.65, down 0.10%. The S&P 500 closed roughly flat while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6198.52, down 0.08%.