Asia report: Regional markets mixed on another quiet day

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific markets finished with a mixed performance on Thursday, with notable divergence across the region. Markets in China remained closed for the extended National Day holiday, while South Korea's bourse was also shut for National Foundation Day.

"China's mainland markets are closed for Golden Week, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell after rising the day before," said TickMill's Patrick Munnelly.

"The benchmark is still up a remarkable 30% in just three weeks after China announced a slew of stimulus measures to boost its struggling economy.

"Japanese stocks surged, and the yen declined on Thursday as the possibility of additional monetary policy tightening this year receded."

Munnelly noted that the dollar had already surged after Japan's newly-installed prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said the country was not ready for further interest rate increases, following a meeting with central bank governor Kazuo Ueda.

"Ueda also indicated that the central bank would proceed cautiously in deciding whether to raise rates.

"Additionally, dovish Bank of Japan policymaker Asahi Noguchi said the BoJ must patiently maintain its accommodative monetary conditions."

Markets mixed on quiet day for region

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 1.47% to 22,113.51, breaking a six-day winning streak as investor optimism surrounding China's stimulus measures waned.

Key stocks such as New World Development and Alibaba Health Information Technology saw sharp declines, falling 11.42% and 11.06% respectively.

Japan's markets were a bright spot, with the Nikkei 225 rising 1.97% to 38,552.06, bolstered by gains in companies like M3 and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, which surged 9.93% and 8.91%.

The Topix also gained, rising 1.2% to 2,683.71.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 saw a modest increase of 0.09%, closing at 8,205.20, led by gains in Sigma Healthcare and Capstone Copper.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.97% to 12,572.66, with Pacific Edge and Freightways posting solid gains.

In currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.07% on the yen to trade at JPY 146.57, while it advanced 0.56% against the Aussie to AUD 1.4606.

The greenback was weaker on the Kiwi, however, falling 0.27% to change hands at NZD 1.5725.

On the commodities front, oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures last up 1.87% on ICE at $75.28 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate climbing 2.05% to $71.54.

Private sector growth slows in Japan

In economic news, Japan's private sector growth slowed in September, according to the au Jibun Bank composite purchasing managers' index (PMI), which dropped to 52.0 from 52.9 in August.

The figure, compiled by S&P Global Intelligence, reflected a softer expansion across both manufacturing and service sectors.

Specifically, the services PMI - which tracks around 400 survey responses - also eased to 53.1 from 53.7 in August, signalling a slower pace of growth in Japan's dominant service industry.

In Australia, economic activity contracted in September, with the Judo Bank composite PMI falling to 49.6, down from 51.7 in August.

A dip below the 50 neutral mark signals a contraction in the sector.

The services PMI also declined, registering 50.5 compared to 52.5 in the prior month, indicating stagnation in service sector activity.

Meanwhile, Australia's trade surplus reached AUD 5.64bn in August, exceeding the AUD 5.5bn predicted in a Reuters poll, though lower than July's AUD 6.01bn.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that both imports and exports contracted by 0.2% month-on-month, reflecting a slight cooling in trade activity.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.