Singapore skyline on September 18, 2016.
Rustam Azmi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asian stocks traded mixed on Thursday as several major markets resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holiday.
China's Caixin/S&P global manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 50.5 in December, missing economists' forecast of 51.7 in a Reuters poll. The PMI was 51.5 in November and 50.3 in October.
The decline in the PMI indicates the “pace of growth.” [had] “The decline has moderated since November and has been marginal overall,” the report said.
“Exports weighed on demand due to increasing uncertainties arising from the overseas economic environment and global trade,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.
The official PMI for December released on Tuesday came in at 50.1, falling short of expectations.
The CSI 300 in mainland China fell 1.61%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 2.18%.
South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.12% while the Kosdaq gained 0.86% after opening an hour later than usual due to a New Year opening ceremony.
Rhee Chang-yong, the governor of the country's central bank, said in a New Year's address released on Thursday that monetary policy would be “managed with flexibility and agility” amid the “unprecedented rise in political and economic uncertainties.”
The Bank of Korea, which has made a series of interest rate cuts for the first time since 2009, is expected to announce its next interest rate decision later this month.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.41%. Markets in Japan will remain closed for the rest of this week.
Traders in Asia also assessed Singapore's gross domestic product data. According to preliminary estimates, the economy grew 4.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, slower than the 5.4% growth in the previous quarter.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the preliminary GDP estimates are prepared primarily based on data from the first two months of the quarter and may be revised as more data becomes available.
Annual economic growth accelerated to 4% in 2024, compared to 1.1% in 2023, according to official data released on Thursday.
U.S. stock futures were little changed as traders braced for a new year after all three major indexes posted double-digit annual gains in 2024.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat while S&P 500 futures increased by 0.06%, Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.17%.
The S&P 500 posted an annual gain of over 20% for the second straight year, rising 23.31% last year, building on a 24.2% gain in 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12.88 %, while the Nasdaq gained 28.64%.
—CNBC's Christina Cheddar Berk contributed to this report.
Comments are closed.