Asia stocks mostly down on lack of U.S. cliff deal
By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks sat mostly lower Monday amid concerns about the U.S. fiscal cliff, but with Chinese shares gaining ground after manufacturing data showed that sector extending its recovery.
Volume was reportedly light as many markets were shut for holiday or on a shortened trading day.
With U.S. lawmakers yet to make a deal to avert the host of austerity measures known as the “fiscal cliff” due to begin taking effect Tuesday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (ASX:AU:XJO) fell 0.5%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SIN:SG:STI) dropped 0.9%, and New Zealand’s NZX 50 lost 0.4%.
Bourses in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan were all closed for holiday, though Japanese Nikkei Stock Average futures were down 0.7% in Singapore trade.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI:HK:HSI) opened lower but later clawed back up to the flat-line after the upbeat Chinese manufacturing data from HSBC, while the Shanghai Composite Index (SHA:CN:000001) also bucked the downtrend to rise 0.8%, extending its recent gains.
