LiveChina Markets Live - Chinese data whacks Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong to weak finish
China's official PMI manufacturing drops to lowest since 2012. Caixin/Markit final manufacturing reading even lower at 47.3, weakest since 2009
Welcome to the SCMP's live markets blog. The intense volatility of recent weeks has every chance of remaining the core underlying theme of activity. Investors are increasingly focused the broader question of how this episode might affect the wider economy as many suspect the equity bubble has yet to fully deflate. We'll bring you the key levels, trading statements, price action and other developments as they happen.
Here’s a summary of market action:
- China official PMI at 49.7, from 50 in July, lowest since 2012
- Shanghai, ends day 1.23 per cent lower, but rebounds from earlier fall of 4 per cent
- Shenzhen closes 4.6 per cent down
- Hong Kong stock markets settle down 2.24 per cent or by 485.15 points
- Wall street and global stocks drop on worries US Fed may up interest rates in September after all
- Investors begin looking toward US jobs data due out on Friday
4:10pm: Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 21,185.43, down by 2.24 per cent, or 485.15 points. H-shares Index closed at 9454.11, down by 2.95 per cent, or 287.3 points.
4:06pm: One-day chart of Shenzhen composite index (purple), ChiNext (blue), Shanghai Composite Index (orange) and CSI300 (green). Click chart to enlarge.
4:03pm: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority told the South China Morning Post that it had intervened the money market for the first time in four months by buying US$800 million worth of US dollars at a rate of HK$7.75, near the top end of the peg.