Asia markets fell Friday, after the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 suffered their worst day in nearly two months, while investors awaited Federal Reserve rate verdict and U.S. elections next week.
Caixin China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for October came in at 50.3, beating median estimate of 49.7 in a Reuters poll of economists, and rebounding from September’s 49.3. A reading below 50 shows contraction in manufacturing, while one above that indicates expansion.
China’s CSI 300 had jumped over 1% during the intra-day trading before reversing course to close marginally lower at 3,890.02. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 0.93% higher at 20,505.38.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.63% to finish at 38,053.67, while the broad-based Topix dropped 1.52% to end at 2,644.26, extending losses from Thursday when the Bank of Japan maintained its benchmark policy rate at 0.25%.
In South Korea, the blue chip Kospi lost 0.54% to close at 2,542.36, while the small-cap Kosdaq index declined 1.89% to 729.05.
Taiwan Weighted Index lost 0.18% to end at 22,780.08, as Typhoon Kong-rey, the largest storm to hit the island in nearly 30 years, wreaked havoc.
Australia’s third-quarter producer prices index climbed 3.9% year on year, sharply lower than 4.8% reading in the previous quarter, according to data from Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday. Quarter on quarter, the index rose 0.9% compared with a 1% rise in previous quarter.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5% to finish at 8,118.8.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes dropped.
The S&P 500 tumbled 1.86% to finish at 5,705.45 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.76% to close at 18,095.15 — both recorded their biggest one-day losses since Sept. 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9% to end at 41,763.46.
That marked the final trading day of a choppy month on Wall Street, with the 30-stock Dow recording monthly losses of 1.3%, S&P 500 declining 1% and the Nasdaq slipping 0.5%, amid heightened uncertainty ahead of the U.S. Presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision next week.
