A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – US stocks have finished lower with petroleum-linked equities especially weak following a report showing the feeblest Chinese factory activity in more than six years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday dropped 50.58 points (0.31 per cent) to 16,279.89.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 3.98 (0.20 per cent) to 1,938.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed an identical 3.98 (0.08 per cent) to 4,752.74.
A preliminary reading of China’s purchasing managers index of manufacturing activity for September fell to 47.0 from 47.5 in August, the lowest reading since March 2009.
LONDON – Europe’s main stock markets have closed higher, recovering some of the previous session’s sharp losses as investors reacted positively to eurozone growth data.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index finished 1.62 per cent ahead at 6,032.24 points, while Paris’ CAC 40 closed up 0.10 per cent at 4,432.83.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 ended 0.44 per cent higher at 9,612.62 points, lifted in part by a surge in scandal-battered Volkswagen’s share price as group CEO Martin Winterkorn announced his resignation.
“Ironically, gains are despite disappointing Chinese manufacturing PMI data overnight which only adds to pre-existing concerns about the world’s number two economy, but suggests markets are becoming increasingly accustomed to China data confirming a slower pace of economic growth,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at traders Accendo Markets.
HONG KONG – A plunge in Chinese factory activity fuelled fresh fears about the world’s number two economy and the global outlook, sending Asian markets tumbling after a heavy sell-off in New York and Europe.
Traders are also watching Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, where he pledged not to push down the value of the yuan to boost exports.
Hong Kong and Shanghai lost more than two per cent after China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of manufacturing activity for September came in at a six-and-a-half-year low and showed the sector contracted further.
The preliminary reading released by financial publisher Caixin came in at 47.0, down from August and missing expectations of 47.5. A result below 50 indicates shrinkage and anything above points to growth.
“The decline indicates the nation’s manufacturing industry has reached a crucial stage in the structural transformation process,” He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a statement.
Emma Lawson, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank, told Bloomberg News: “It’s a confirmation of fears that were existing in the market already that China is, in fact, doing worse than we had been led to believe and there’s a lot of uncertainty about where that economy really is”.
Shanghai stocks closed 2.19 per cent lower and Hong Kong plunged 2.26 per cent. Sydney – where a number of firms with strong China links are listed – ended down 2.07 per cent.
WELLINGTON – The S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 42.45 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6564.34.
– AAP
