Chinese factory activity data falls short of expectations; Asia-Pacific markets mixed

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for November came in at 48, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

That’s below analysts’ expectations polled by Reuters, who had forecast a reading of 49. October’s PMI was 49.2.

PMI readings are sequential and represent month-to-month changes in plant activity.

—Abigail from

Australia’s consumer price index for October slowed to 6.9% on an annualized basis from 7.3% in September, according to a monthly indicator from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Rising prices for housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transportation pushed up the overall CPI indicator.

Hong Kong listed shares of bilibili jumped as much as 12.7% on Asia Morning after the company beat revenue estimates for the third quarter of the year.

Net revenue was 5.79 billion Chinese yuan ($809.8 million), up 11% from the same period in 2021. Refinitiv Eikon estimates forecast revenue of 5.52 billion yuan.

Net losses narrowed to 1.7 billion yuan and the average number of monthly active users increased by 25% on an annualized basis.

U.S. listed shares of the company climbed 22% overnight, while Hong Kong shares last rose 8.47%.

—Abigail from

Industrial production in South Korea and Japan each saw declines in October.

Japan’s preliminary industrial production for October fell 2.6% from a month ago, more than expectations for a 1.5% drop, according to a Reuters poll.

The reading marks the second consecutive decline after falling 1.7% the previous month.

South Korea’s industrial production also fell 3.5% from a month ago, also below expectations for a 1% decline. The reading marked the lowest since May 2020, when production fell 6.7%.

– Jihye Lee

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for November is expected to come in at 49, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

That’s slightly lower than the reading of 49.2 reported in October.

PMI readings are sequential and represent changes in activity from month to month.

—Abigail from

Chinese health authorities said officials were “closely monitoring” Covid developments when asked if protests in the region would lead to changes in its zero-Covid policy.

“China has been closely tracking and monitoring the virus as it evolves and mutates,” officials said, according to a translation of Tuesday’s briefing.

– Christine Wang, Evelyn Cheng

Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC that historically oil stocks have traded at a much higher premium to crude oil prices compared to current price levels. ..

For example, the price difference between SPDR Oil & Gas ETF and Crude Brent ICE the futures contract was around $66.60 on Tuesday. This is significantly lower than the $104 gap recorded in early January 2017, according to Koyfin data, as seen in the chart below.

Chinese health authorities have released a plan to boost vaccinations for the elderly, according to a notice posted on the National Health Commission’s website.

Hong Kong listed shares of CanSino Biologics extended gains in the afternoon session and rose 18% shortly after the announcement was released.

The advisory says authorities should use multiple data points to accurately identify target groups for vaccination of the elderly.

Wall Street pros are worried about the outlook for equities and are urging investors to stay on the defensive. These growing-margin stocks could be safe bets.

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— Zavier Ong

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 3.07 points, or 0.01%, after falling for much of the day. The index ended the day at 33,852.53.

During this time, the Nasdaq Compound ended down 0.59%, to close at 10,983.78. Jhe S&P 500 slid 0.16% to close at 3,957.63.

—Alex Harring