By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Australian and South Korean stocks
retreated Monday, taking a pause after key U.S. indexes ended lower
on Friday and as investors looked ahead to key monthly
manufacturing indicators on China from HSBC.
"The big market-moving event for Monday is Chinese manufacturing
data," said Rivkin Securities global analyst Tim Radford. "Amid
rising concerns over credit issues in China, any downside surprises
in economic data could not come at a poorer time."
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% as the nation began a new
financial year, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%.
An official gauge of Chinese manufacturing Purchasing Managers'
Index for June slipped to 50.1 from 50.8 in May. A reading above 50
indicates an improvement in activity. The final result of a
separate, privately compiled survey by HSBC and Markit was due
later in the day. A preliminary reading of that survey, released
last month, printed at 48.3.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 Index
(SPX) ended lower on Friday, as concerns about the Federal
Reserve's bond purchases remained in focus.
Japanese shares wavered in choppy trade, meanwhile, as investors
took profits in the real-estate and telecommunication sectors after
sharp gains on Thursday and Friday.
The Nikkei Stock Average reversed early gains to drop 0.4%,
after rising 3% or more in the previous two sessions, while the
broader Topix advanced 0.3%.
The Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey, released just ahead
of the markets open Monday, showed an improvement in sentiment at
both large manufacturers and non-manufacturers, with the former
showing positive sentiment for the first time since mid 2011.
In Tokyo trading, shares of Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) dropped
0.4% and Mitsubishi Estate Co. (MITEY) fell 1.2%, while
telecommunications firm KDDI Corp. (9433.TO) gave up 1.4%.
Some automobile and shipbuilding firms advanced as the U.S.
dollar (USDJPY) had moved above the Yen99 handle since the previous
session. Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) rose 0.7%, Nissan Motor Co.
(NSANY) climbed 0.9%, and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.
gained 4.1%.
In Sydney trade, banks were mostly lower on caution ahead of
Tuesday's monetary-policy decision at the Reserve Bank of
Australia. Shares of Westpac Banking Corp. (WBK) gave up 1.8%, and
those of National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY) lost 1.6%.
In Seoul, meanwhile, losses came after data from HSBC showed
South Korea's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.4
in June from 51.1 in May.
Shares of Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMTF) lost 1.1%, and steel maker
Posco (PKX) gave up 1.7%.
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