Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed and Shanghai gains on strong China factory data

BANGKOK– Asian shares were mixed on Monday, with Shanghai gaining 1% after surveys showed manufacturing conditions in China were improving.

Sydney and Hong Kong were closed for Easter Monday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 1.2% to 39,883.96 after a quarterly Bank of Japan survey of business conditions showed that sentiment among major manufacturers, including auto and electronics giants, in March for the fell for the first time in a year.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 1% to 3,072.29.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics released survey data on Sunday showing the country’s official purchasing managers index stood at 50.8 in March, the strongest reading since March 2023.

A similar but separate study, the Caixin/S&The P Global Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 51.1 in March – the strongest since February 2023. In February it stood at 50.9.

“Chinese manufacturers increased production, while also increasing purchasing levels, amid improved optimism,” the report said.

“A slew of policies introduced earlier this year to stabilize growth are gradually taking effect,” Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a statement.

China’s target of economic growth of “about 5%” is “ambitious,” he said. Given the pressures limiting employment and keeping prices low, efforts will be needed to make growth more efficient and improve its quality, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,750.64 and India’s Sensex rose 0.7%. In Bangkok, the SET rose 0.1%.

Markets in the US and Europe were closed on Friday. On Thursday, Wall Street achieved its latest winning month and quarter by soaring to new records. The S&The P500 rose 0.1%, adding to the previous day’s all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 39,807.37, also setting a record. The Nasdaq index fell 0.1% to 16,379.46.

In other trading, the US dollar rose from 151.29 yen to 151.40 Japanese yen. The euro fell slightly, from $1.0794 to $1.0784.

The US stock market has been almost unstoppable since late October, and the S&The P 500 just completed its fifth winning month in a row. Interest rates have risen because the U.S. economy has remained remarkably solid despite high interest rates aimed at controlling inflation.

And with inflation still hopefully cooling off from its peak, the Federal Reserve has indicated that it will likely cut rates several times later this year.

In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude rose 26 cents to $83.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price rose by $1.82 per barrel on Thursday before markets closed for Good Friday and Easter.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 25 cents to $87.25 a barrel. On Thursday, the price rose from $1.59 to $87.00 per barrel.