The WSJ reports,"Hong Kong led Asian markets lower on Monday after data showed continued weakness in China's manufacturing sector.
The Hang Seng Index lost 1.2% after HSBC's final reading for its Purchasing Managers Index for China came in at 48.1 for April, lower than a preliminary reading of 48.3, and little moved from the 48 reading in March. A score below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity, while a score above that line points to an expansion.
The manufacturing data's impact rippled through currency markets, especially in Australia—a country with strong trade ties with China. The Australian dollar was last at US$0.9255, compared with US$0.9286 late Friday in New York. The yen strengthened to ¥101.88 to the dollar, compared with ¥102.21 late Friday.
Stocks were also under pressure in mainland China, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.8%. In addition to the poor PMI data, there were concerns over excessive supply of new stocks hitting the market after the Chinese securities regulator on Sunday evening unveiled prospectuses of 25 applicants for initial public offerings.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2%. Sydney was adding to a 1.3% decline that it suffered last week, which made it one of the region's worst performers over the previous five sessions—as it was weighed by falls in banks and retailers.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore's Straits Times Index was flat, Indonesia's JSX was up less than 0.1% and Philippines PSEi lost 0.3%".
Japan and South Korea were closed for a public holiday.
