- au Jibun Bank announced that Japan’s composite purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.7 in June.
- The Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index showed that China’s services sector expanded for the 18th consecutive month.
- HSBC reported that India’s private sector activity expanded strongly last month, with the composite PMI rising to 60.9 in June from 60.5 in May, a five-month low.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as investors assessed a trove of data from the region, while Wall Street rose overnight after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted “evolving” inflation.
au Jibun Bank announced that Japan’s composite purchasing managers’ index fell sharply to 49.7 in June from 52.6 in the previous month, indicating that activity in Japan’s private sector declined for the first time in seven months.
The bank noted that a slight decline in services activity, the first since August 2022, outweighed a slight increase in manufacturing production for the month.
Meanwhile, the Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index showed China’s services sector expanded for the 18th consecutive month, but at the slowest pace since October 2023. The PMI stood at 51.2 in June, down from 54.0 the previous month.
Asian traders will also be assessing Indian economic activity data for June, due to be released later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.2% to surpass 40,000 points, while the Topix rose 0.4%.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.34%, while the Kosdaq index added 0.52%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.24%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.12% in early trade, helped by gains in property stocks, while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged down 0.18%.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba said on Tuesday it bought back a total of 613 million common shares for a total of $5.8 billion in the quarter ended June. The company’s shares rose 1.7% on Wednesday.
India’s BSE Sensex briefly crossed the 80,000 mark, hitting an all-time high, while the Nifty 50 also hit a record high of 24,307.25.
HSBC reported that India’s private sector activity expanded strongly last month, with its composite PMI rising to 60.9 in June from a five-month low of 60.5 in May. Manufacturing companies contributed more than services firms, said Pranjul Bhandari, HSBC’s chief India economist.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41%, the S&P 500 rose 0.62%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.84%. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at record highs.
Tesla shares helped lift the S&P 500 after Elon Musk’s electric car company reported better-than-expected second-quarter delivery numbers.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sara Min contributed to this report.
