China factory activity shrinks most since April; Asia-Pacific markets mostly at highs

China’s official manufacturing PMI for November was 48, below the 50-point dividing line between growth and contraction.

That was below expectations of analysts polled by Reuters, who had forecast a reading of 49. October’s PMI came in at 49.2.

PMI readings are continuous and represent month-to-month changes in factory activity.

— Abigail Wu

Australia’s consumer price index slowed to an annualized rate of 6.9% in October from 7.3% in September, according to the monthly indicator from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Rising prices for housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transportation drove the headline CPI index higher.

Hong Kong listed shares Bilibili Shares soared 12.7 percent in early Asian trade after the company beat its revenue forecast for the third quarter of the year.

Net revenue was 5.79 billion yuan ($809.8 million), an 11% increase from the same period in 2021. Refinitiv Eikon forecast revenue of 5.52 billion yuan.

The net loss narrowed to 1.7 billion yuan, and the average monthly active users increased by 25% annually.

Company U.S.-listed stock It surged 22% overnight, while Hong Kong stocks rose 8.47% in late trading.

— Abigail Wu

Industrial production in South Korea and Japan both declined in October.

A Reuters survey showed that Japan’s initial industrial production in October fell 2.6% month-on-month, higher than the expected decline of 1.5%.

The reading was the second straight decline after falling 1.7% the previous month.

Industrial production in South Korea also fell 3.5% from a month earlier, also missing expectations for a 1% decline. The reading was the lowest since May 2020, when production fell 6.7%.

——Li Zhihui

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is expected to come in at 49 in November, below the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

That was slightly lower than the 49.2 reported in October.

PMI readings are continuous and represent month-to-month changes in activity.

— Abigail Wu

Asked whether protests in the region would lead to changes in its zero-Covid policy, Chinese health authorities said officials were “closely monitoring” Covid developments.

“China has been following and closely following the evolution and mutation of the virus,” the officials said, according to a translation of the briefing Tuesday.

– Christine Wang, Evelyn Cheng

Jeff Currie, head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC that oil stocks have historically traded at a much higher premium to the price of crude compared to current price levels..

For example, the price gap between SPDR Oil and Gas ETF and ICE Brent Crude Oil The futures contract was trading around $66.60 on Tuesday. According to Koyfin, this is significantly lower than the $104 gap recorded in early January 2017, as shown in the chart below.

Chinese health authorities have released a plan to boost vaccinations for the elderly, according to a notice on the website of the National Health Commission.

Hong Kong listed shares CanSino Bio Gains extended in the afternoon session, rising as much as 18% shortly after the announcement.

Authorities should use multiple data points to accurately identify the target population for vaccination of older adults, the notice said.

Wall Street pros are concerned about the stock market outlook and are urging investors to stay on the defensive. These margin growth stocks may be safe bets.

Professional subscribers can read more here.

— Xavier On

This Dow Jones Industrial Average It closed up 3.07 points, or 0.01%, after falling for most of the day. The index closed at 33,852.53 points on the day.

at the same time, Nasdaq Composite Index It closed down 0.59% at 10,983.78.TonS&P 500 Index It fell 0.16% to close at 3,957.63 points.

— Alex Haring