Market Update
China's Manufacturing Surveys Highlight Ongoing Weakness, Hong Kong Attracts Three Successful IPOs
Li Chen
30 Sep, 2025
Hong Kong
China's stock market indexes edged higher ahead of the start of the weeklong Golden Week holidays.
The Hang Seng index increased 0.2%, and the CSI 300 index edged up 0.5% after the official survey of manufacturing activities painted a gloomy picture.
The manufacturing purchasing managers' activities index was 49.8 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday.
The persistent domestic demand weakness and export headwinds played key roles in contracting activities for the sixth consecutive month.
The nonmanufacturing activity index, which includes construction and services, dropped to 50 in September from 50.3 in August, data from the statistics bureau showed.
However, a private survey released Tuesday by S&P Global showed a slight increase in manufacturing activities in September.
The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI increased to 51.2 from 50.5 in August.
The private survey has a larger percentage of smaller and private companies, including businesses focused on export activities.
China Indexes and Stocks
The Hang Seng index increased 0.2% to 26,668.70, and the CSI 300 index advanced 0.5% to 4,642.62.
Techtronic Industries rose 1.4% to HK $99.85, Alibaba Group Holding increased 2.2% to HK $177.30, and Tencent Holdings edged up 0.2% to HK $661.50.
Semiconductor makers advanced after local reports suggested Huawei Technologies plans to double AI chip production in the near future.
SMIC rose 3% to HK$78.80, and SenseTime Group advanced 4% to HK$2.84.
Three mainland Chinese companies listed their stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Zijin Gold, the spinoff of Zijin Mining, soared 55% to HK$117, and the company priced its stock at HK$71.59 per share.
The company sold 349 million shares and raised HK$24.98 billion through the listing of its stock on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The mining company plans to use about 33% of its offering to complete its acquisition of the Raygorodok Gold Mine in Kazakhstan.
About 90% of the offering was placed with international investors.
Singapore's GIC, the U.S.-based BlackRock, and the UK's Schroders attracted investments to the company's public offering.
Shenzhen Hipine Precision Technology soared more than 180% to HK$102.30 after the company listed its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The watch designer and manufacturer priced and sold 10.6 million shares at a price of HK$29.60 per share.
Pateo Connect Technology soared on the first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Pateo traded at HK$144.0, and the company sold 10.44 million shares at a price of HK$10.23 per share.
Circular AI Trade Keeps Investors On Edge, Wall Street Awaits Labor Market Updates This Week
Barry Adams
29 Sep, 2025
New York City
Stocks attempted to rebound on Monday following a week of decline as an AI-driven rally faced skepticism.
The S&P 500 index advanced 0.5%, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%, and gold reached a new record high of $3,828.53 in New York.
Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft, and Alphabet Inc. lost ground over the last three sessions, but the tech leaders hovered near record highs amid optimism that large investment in data centers will deliver earnings growth.
In the week ahead, U.S. investors are looking forward to labor market updates, following last month's weak data.
Nonfarm payrolls in September are likely to rebound to 37,000 from the downwardly revised 22,000 in August, with a jobless rate at 4.3% and annual wage growth of 3.3%.
In addition, job openings are estimated to shrink to 7.1 million, amid tariff whiplash and patches of the economy going through sharp contraction.
On the earnings front, investors are anticipating quarterly results from Carnival Corp, Nike, Cal-Maine Foods, United Natural Foods, Lamb Weston Holdings, Paychex, Progress Software, and Village Super Market.
U.S. Stock Movers
Oracle increased 0.6% to $285.10, Nvidia advanced 1% to $179.88, Microsoft added 0.3% to $513.0, Amazon.com Inc. jumped 1% to $221.85, and Alphabet gained 1% to $249.80.
China-focused stocks edged higher after industrial profit advanced 20.4% in August, a sharp jump following three consecutive months of decrease.
Alibaba Group gained 3.3% to $177.70, JD.com Inc. increased 1.8% to $35.11, and Xpeng advanced 2.2% to $23.32.
Circular AI Trade Keeps Investors On Edge, Wall Street Awaits Labor Market Updates This W
Barry Adams
29 Sep, 2025
New York City
Stocks attempted to rebound on Monday following a week of decline as an AI-driven rally faced skepticism.
The S&P 500 index advanced 0.5%, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%, and gold reached a new record high of $3,828.53 in New York.
Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft, and Alphabet Inc. lost ground over the last three sessions, but the tech leaders hovered near record highs amid optimism that large investment in data centers will deliver earnings growth.
In the week ahead, U.S. investors are looking forward to labor market updates, following last month's weak data.
Nonfarm payrolls in September are likely to rebound to 37,000 from the downwardly revised 22,000 in August, with a jobless rate at 4.3% and annual wage growth of 3.3%.
In addition, job openings are estimated to shrink to 7.1 million, amid tariff whiplash and patches of the economy going through sharp contraction.
On the earnings front, investors are anticipating quarterly results from Carnival Corp, Nike, Cal-Maine Foods, United Natural Foods, Lamb Weston Holdings, Paychex, Progress Software, and Village Super Market.
U.S. Stock Movers
Oracle increased 0.6% to $285.10, Nvidia advanced 1% to $179.88, Microsoft added 0.3% to $513.0, Amazon.com Inc. jumped 1% to $221.85, and Alphabet gained 1% to $249.80.
China-focused stocks edged higher after industrial profit advanced 20.4% in August, a sharp jump following three consecutive months of decrease.
Alibaba Group gained 3.3% to $177.70, JD.com Inc. increased 1.8% to $35.11, and Xpeng advanced 2.2% to $23.32.
Abenomics and Koizumi Duel Out In LDP's Leadership Race
Akira Ito
29 Sep, 2025
Tokyo
Japan's benchmark indexes turned lower on Monday amid an uncertain political and trade outlook.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.7%, and the broader Topix dropped 1.4% as investors prepared for a flood of economic updates in the week ahead.
Investors are looking forward to the release of Japan's confidence index among large businesses, retail sales, industrial production, construction orders, jobless rate, and housing starts.
As the LDP leadership race narrows to two candidates, investors are looking for details about the possible trade policy, defense partnerships, and government budgetary priorities.
Ahead of the party's leadership election on October 4, and by default, the next prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and Shijiro Koizumi are leading in early party votes, suggesting that the
On the earnings front, investors are awaiting interim results from Nishimatsuya Chain, Shimamura Co. Ltd., Takara Company, Nippon Filcon Co., Fast Retailing, Nitori Holding, and YASKAWA Electric Corp.
This week in Asia, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia are scheduled to release their international trade data.
Japan Indexes and Stocks
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.7% to 45,052.82, and the broader Topix dropped 1.4% to 3,143.02.
Financial stocks decreased for the second session in a row after July's BoJ meeting showed policymakers are open to continuing the rate-hike campaign if economic growth and consumer inflation evolve as expected.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 1.4% to ¥4,115.0, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial declined 1.2% to ¥2,331.50, and Mizuho Financial dropped 1.6% to ¥4,932.0.
Abenomics and Koizumi Duel Out In LDP's Leadership Race
Akira Ito
29 Sep, 2025
Tokyo
Japan's benchmark indexes turned lower on Monday amid an uncertain political and trade outlook.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.7%, and the broader Topix dropped 1.4% as investors prepared for a flood of economic updates in the week ahead.
Investors are looking forward to the release of Japan's confidence index among large businesses, retail sales, industrial production, construction orders, jobless rate, and housing starts.
As the LDP leadership race narrows to two candidates, investors are looking for details about the possible trade policy, defense partnerships, and government budgetary priorities.
Ahead of the party's leadership election on October 4, and by default, the next prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and Shijiro Koizumi are leading in early party votes, suggesting that the
On the earnings front, investors are awaiting interim results from Nishimatsuya Chain, Shimamura Co. Ltd., Takara Company, Nippon Filcon Co., Fast Retailing, Nitori Holding, and YASKAWA Electric Corp.
This week in Asia, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia are scheduled to release their international trade data.
Japan Indexes and Stocks
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.7% to 45,052.82, and the broader Topix dropped 1.4% to 3,143.02.
Financial stocks decreased for the second session in a row after July's BoJ meeting showed policymakers are open to continuing the rate-hike campaign if economic growth and consumer inflation evolve as expected.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 1.4% to ¥4,115.0, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial declined 1.2% to ¥2,331.50, and Mizuho Financial dropped 1.6% to ¥4,932.0.
China's Industrial Profit Rebounded In August, CSI 300 and Hang Seng Indexes Advanced On Monday
Li Chen
29 Sep, 2025
Hong Kong
Stock market indexes in China and Hong Kong advanced on Monday following the release of the industrial profit report for August.
The Hang Seng index increased 1.4%, and the mainland-focused CSI 300 index gained 0.5% amid optimism that corporate profits are likely to hold up despite macroeconomic worries.
Industrial profits among mainland firms with at least 20 million yuan rose 20.4% from a year ago in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Corporate profits rebounded from an annual decrease of 1.5% in July, as activities at industrial companies picked up pace.
In the eight months to August, industrial profits inched higher 0.9% from a year ago to 4.7 trillion yuan, compared to a decrease of 1.7% in the first seven month of the year.
Investor enthusiasm remained muted ahead of the start of the eight-day Golden Week holidays, despite Monday's advance.
China's indexes advanced more than 30% from the lows reached in the first week of April, driven by domestic investors chasing higher returns from riskier assets.
Foreign investors piled into Chinese stocks amid hopes of a recovery in profits and annual economic growth of 5% or better.
China Indexes and Stocks
The Hang Seng Index increased 1.4% to 26,476.48, and the mainland-focused CSI 300 index advanced 0.5% to 4,571.66.
Alibaba Group Holding increased 3.1% to HK$171.45, Tencent Holdings advanced 1.7% to HK$655.0, and JD.com Inc gained 2.4% to HK$135.70.
However, electric vehicle makers led Monday's decliners.
Xiaomi Corp. decreased 2.4% to HK$53.35, Li Auto Inc. declined 1% to HK$99.10, and Xpeng Inc. dropped 2% to HK$89.0.