Share

Asia markets poised to rise ahead of business activity surveys out of China

Lim Hui Jie

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

SHENZHEN, CHINA - AUGUST 26: An aerial view of the Shenzhen skyline on August 26, 2020 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. (Photo by He Shaoping/VCG via Getty Images)
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Asia-Pacific markets are set to largely rise ahead of business activity data and inflation reports from countries around the region this week.

For Monday, China will see the official release of its purchasing managers index in July for both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sector.

Expectations from economists polled by Reuters are that the PMI for the manufacturing sector will come in at 49.2, which will mean that the sector will stay in contraction territory for a fourth straight month.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 20,160, pointing to a stronger open compared to compared to the HSI's close of 19,916.56. This would be the first time that the HSI breached the 20,000 mark in over a month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 is also set for a positive open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 33,160 and its counterpart in Osaka at 33,100 against the index's last close of 32,759.23.

However, in Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 point to a lower open, at 7,376 compared to the last close of 7,403.6. Investors will be watching the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision on Tuesday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a 25 basis points hike in its benchmark policy rate to 4.35%.


On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes gained as June data for the personal consumption expenditures price index continued to show easing inflation. Core PCE gained 0.2% month-over-month, and core PCE rose 4.1% from the year-ago period, lower than the anticipated 4.2%

The Dow rose 0.5%, while the S&P 500 added and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.90%.

— CNBC's Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report

Technology stocks rally, lift Nasdaq

Technology stocks climbed on Friday, boosting the Nasdaq Composite by more than 2% midday Friday.

Major gainers included technology giants and semiconductor stocks. Alphabet, Amazon and Netflix rose about 3% each, while Meta Platforms jumped more than 4%, bringing its weekly gains to nearly 11%. Nvidia added 2%, while Applied Materials and KLA Corp gained more than 4% each. Tesla surged 4%.

Lucid Group jumped nearly 8%, while Intel rallied nearly 7% on better-than-expected earnings and a return to profitability. Other gainers included Chinese technology stocks JD.com and PDD, last up about 5% and 7%, respectively.

— Samantha Subin

Communication services sector outperforms in S&P 500

Communication services outpaced the S&P 500 on Friday. The sector was higher by 1.8%.

Major advancers included Meta Platforms, which was up more than 2.8%. Warner Bros. Discovery gained 2.5%. Alphabet added 2.4%.

— Sarah Min

Employment cost index rose less than expected in Q2

The employment cost index, a measure the Federal Reserve considers an important indicator of underlying inflation, increased less than expected in the second quarter.

The index rose 1% for the three-month period ending in June, slightly below the 1.1% estimate, the Labor Department reported Friday.

On an annual basis, compensation costs increased 4.5%, slightly ahead of the 4.1% increase for core inflation as reported Friday by the Commerce Department. That annual ECI level was below the 5.1% pace from the previous year.

—Jeff Cox

Key Fed inflation rate falls to lowest annual rate in nearly 2 years

Inflation showed further signs of cooling in June, according to a gauge released Friday that the Federal Reserve follows closely.

The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy increased just 0.2% from the previous month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department said.

So-called core PCE rose 4.1% from a year ago, compared to the estimate for 4.2%. The annual rate was the lowest since September 2021.

— Jeff Cox