Asian stocks: A sea of red, poor China PMI spooks market

By FXStreet FXStreet (Mumbai) – Asian indices dived deeper into the red on Wednesday, extending losses from early trades, after the latest economic data from China pointed to renewed weakness in the world’s second-biggest economy.

China PMI miss reinforces risk-aversion

Risk-off sentiment was in full swing across the Asian markets after US stocks closed in the negative territory, while the poor Chinese factory gauge further spooked the markets, exacerbating the pain in the Asian equities.

Chinese manufacturing activity contracted for the seventh month in a row in September. The Caixin-Markit China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 47.3 in August to a preliminary 47.0 in September, while markets expected a reading of 47.6.

Japanese markets were closed for the third day in a row on Wednesday, with the nation celebrating Autumnal Equinox Day today.

The benchmark Australian S&P/ASX 200 index sinks -1.86% to 5,008 points. While the Chinese markets remained heavy, with the Shanghai Composite sliding -1.17% to 3,148 points. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index emerged the biggest loser, down -2.37% at 21,272. While Korea’s benchmark Kospi index tanks -1.31% to 1,956 points in Seoul.
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Source:: FX Street