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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday after China’s manufacturing activity in May shrank at the fastest pace since September 2022, a private survey showed.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.3, missing Reuters’ median estimate of 50.6 and dropping sharply from 50.4 in April, as a sharper decline in new export orders highlighted the impact of prohibitive U.S. tariffs.
China on Monday pushed back against the U.S.’ accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Instead, the Asian powerhouse blamed Washington for failing to uphold the deal — a sign that negotiations between the world’s two largest economies are deteriorating.
Meanwhile, the European Union criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention to double steel tariffs to 50%, saying that such a move “undermines” its own negotiations with the U.S. An EU spokesperson said that the bloc was “prepared to impose countermeasures.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led gains in the Asia-Pacific region and rose 1.13% while Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.48%.
Over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 benchmark pared gains to trade flat, while the broader Topix index fell 0.16% in choppy trade.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark advanced 0.48% in its final hour of trade, after briefly hitting a near four-month high earlier in the session.
The country’s seasonally adjusted current account balance for the first quarter of 2025 came in at a deficit of 14.7 billion Australian dollars ($9.53 billion), exceeding the AU$13.1 billion deficit forecast by economists polled by Reuters, but an improvement from the AU$16.3 billion deficit in the previous quarter’s revised reading.
Meanwhile, India’s benchmark Nifty 50 was last seen flat and the BSE Sensex inched down 0.28%.
South Korean markets were closed for polling day.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
