China PMI data, stocks, currencies, oil

SINGAPORE – Chinese markets rose on Thursday as government data showed factory activity growth in June, but most other Asia-Pacific indices slipped.

Mainland China markets were trading higher. The Shanghai Composite advanced 0.37%, and the Shenzhen component rose 1%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 0.13%. Shares of artificial intelligence software company SenseTime plunged 41.16% Thursday after a six-month closing period for some of its shares ended.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 0.72%, while Topix is ​​down 0.54%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 is down 0.54%.

South Korea’s Kospi is down 0.91%, while the Kosdaq is down 1.04%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares was down 0.44%.

In economic news, the official Chinese manufacturing PMI for June was at 50.2, slightly lower than the expected 50.5, according to a Reuters poll.

The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis, and the index has been below 50 since March.

Government data showed that factory production in South Korea grew moderately in May. Industrial production rose 0.1% from the April figure. Service sector production grew 1.1% in May.

Japanese industrial production fell 7.2% in May, according to government data. That number was well below market consensus and could be affected by the shutdowns in China, Rob Carnell, ING’s regional head of research for Asia Pacific, wrote in a note Thursday.

In corporate news, Toyota Motor missed its monthly production target in May for the third month in a row, Reuters reported. The company’s shares fell 0.61% on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor has decided to postpone the launch of its updated hydrogen car, the Nexo SUV, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean newspaper. Hyundai shares rose 2%.

Overnight in the US, stocks wobbled on Wednesday after the failed major averages attempted a rebound in the previous session, and as the market prepares to close out the worst first half of the year since 1970.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31.029.31, while other indices closed slightly lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.07% to 3818.83, and the heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.03% to 11,177.89.

The market has been plagued by interest rate hikes, recession fears and inflation fears.

ANZ Research said in a note Thursday that markets were “cautious and lacking strong conviction” as central bankers say they will prioritize tackling inflation.

“The bottom line is that until inflation data shows sustained moderation, it remains risky to jump on softer economic data and declare that the peak of central bank interest rates for this cycle has been priced in,” the note said.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 105.185, up from below 104 earlier in the week.

The Japanese yen was trading at 136.61 against the dollar after briefly breaking the 137 level. The Australian dollar was at 0.6863 USD, extending its downtrend significantly during the week.

US crude futures were little changed at $109.60 a barrel, while Brent crude futures were down 0.36% to $115.84 a barrel.