Weak purchasing managers index data from China and the United States are setting the negative tone, and there are more Asia and Pacific PMI reports scheduled for release on Wednesday, including China’s ‘unofficial’ Caixin service sector PMI.
China’s ‘official’ PMI figures from Beijing over the weekend showed that manufacturing activity sank to a six-month low in August as factory gate prices tumbled and owners struggled for orders. Shanghai stocks open on Wednesday at a seven-month low.
Australian GDP figures are also on tap on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters predict growth in the second quarter accelerated to 0.3% from 0.1% at a quarter-on-quarter pace, but year-on-year growth held broadly steady at 1.0%.
After the broad-based and aggressive selloff in U.S. stocks on Tuesday, Asian markets will almost certainly open in the red on Wednesday – the old adage still stands: when the U.S. catches a cold, the rest of the world sneezes.
Institute for Supply Management figures show that U.S. manufacturing activity has contracted every single month since October 2022, with the exception of March this year. That’s nearly two years of uninterrupted manufacturing recession.
This has been offset by expansion in services activity, but rates traders are now attaching a near 40% chance of the Fed beginning its easing cycle later this month with a 50 basis point cut.
