China manufacturing drags on Asia, but Europe up – The Seattle Times

China manufacturing drags on Asia, but Europe up – The Seattle Times

Originally published August 20, 2014 at 6:34 AM | Page modified August 21, 2014 at 6:25 AM

SEOUL, South Korea —

Asian stock markets were dampened by a weak China manufacturing survey Thursday, but European stocks opened higher. Japan gained on the prospect of a stronger dollar after Fed minutes showed policymakers are leaning toward their first rate hike since the 2008 financial crisis.

KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,771.49 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.4 percent to 9,354.87. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.4 percent to 4,259.54. Futures augured more gains on Wall Street. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1 percent and Dow Jones futures added 0.2 percent.

CHINA CHILL: Growth in China’s vast manufacturing industry weakened in August, suggesting that the recovery in the world No. 2 economy is losing momentum and Beijing may need to spoon out more stimulus. The preliminary version of HSBC’s manufacturing index fell to a three-month low of 50.3 from 51.7 in July, indicating that manufacturing businesses are barely growing.

FED MINUTES: Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed that the majority of Fed policymakers believe the U.S. economy is improving enough for the central bank to act sooner than previously thought to withdraw the extraordinary support it’s been providing through ultra-low interest rates. The debate on when the Fed should raise interest rates, which have been near zero since 2008, has intensified in recent months as the Fed winds down its other economic stimulus. The minutes from the July 29-30 meeting revealed a sharp debate within the Fed about how and when to scale back its help for a steadily improving economy.

ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9 percent to 15,586.20 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 percent to 5,638.90. South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4 percent to 2,044.21 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7 percent to 24,994.10. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.4 percent to 2,230.46. Higher interest rates in the U.S. could be a boost for countries such as Japan where giant exporters have much to gain from a strong dollar. But in South Korea, investors were jittery it could prompt foreign investors to sell their stockholdings.

DOLLAR SURGE: Expectations of an end to the Fed’s easy monetary policy pushed the U.S. dollar to 103.89 yen from 103.71 yen. The euro, however, reversed its earlier fall, appreciating to $1.3265 from $1.3260 late Wednesday.

THE QUOTE: “It seems consensus that the FOMC minutes were modestly hawkish,” said Chris Weston, a chief market strategist at IG, referring to the Fed minutes. “What was interesting though was that while the FOMC minutes put a bid in the USD … it wasn’t enough to derail the equity story,” he said of U.S. stock markets.

YELLEN’S SPEECH: On Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will give a speech at an annual conference of central bankers and other policymakers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It will be closely watched by markets for clues to her thinking on the timing of interest rate hikes.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude for October delivery was down 29 cents to $93.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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China manufacturing drags on Asia, but Europe up – The Seattle Times

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