Asia markets mixed as China’s RatingDog data improves

September 01, 2025 (MLN): Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed China’s RatingDog manufacturing data for August.

The metric which was previously known as the Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 50.5, compared to a contraction of 49.5 the month before.

Data released Sunday showed that the country’s manufacturing PMI data came in at 49.4 in August, compared to 49.3 the month before.

Investors were also watching developments in India-China relations, after leaders from both countries agreed that they are development partners, not rivals, during a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization regional security bloc.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a speech at the summit, as CNBC reported.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.16%, with gains led by Alibaba Group which jumped 17.63%, BOC Hong Kong Holdings which surged 8.01% and WuXi AppTec which gained 6.86%.

Meanwhile, mainland China’s CSI 300 ticked up 0.33%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined by 2.03%.

Losses were led by Advantest which plunged 9.04%, Disco Corp which declined 8.39% and Socionext which dropped 7.09%. Japan’s broader Topix index lost 0.78%.

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.81%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark retreated 0.62%.

Investors were also assessing a U.S. federal appeals court ruling that most of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs are illegal.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday that Trump had overstepped his presidential authority by imposing levies on virtually every country in the world as part of his April 2 “liberation day” announcement.

On Wall Street, stocks fell Friday as new inflation data showed rising prices were still a risk heading into the new month.

The broad-based S&P 500 ended the day 0.64% lower at 6,460.26, but still scored its fourth winning month in a row.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.15% to finish at 21,455.55, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 92.02 points, or 0.20%, to settle at 45,544.88.

U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day public holiday.

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