Central Bank, Factory Outlooks Roil Asian Stock Markets

06:38 AM EDT, 06/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fluctuated on Monday as traders weighed central bank outlooks, Chinese manufacturing data, and signals from New York.

Tokyo and Shanghai finished in the green, while Hong Kong fell back. Other regional exchanges were also uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 finished up 0.8% as traders weighed comments from US central bankers that monetary easing could be in the cards.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 336.60 to 40,487.39, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 158 to 63.

Leading the upside was utility Tokyo Electric Power, up 6.1%, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries declined 2.9%.

In economic news, Japan's industrial production index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in May from April, but slipped 1.8% from May a year ago, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI).

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended down 0.9% after a soft manufacturing-sector report from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 211.87 to 34,072.28, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 61 to 21. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.9%.

Leading the upside was Xinyi Solar, gaining 4.2%, while Li Auto declined 3.3%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,444.43.

In economic news, China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for June logged at 49.7, up from 49.5 in May but still striking below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The nation's non-manufacturing PMI in June registered at 50.5, up from 50.3 in May, supported in part by a rebound in construction activity.

China's general PMI, a combination of the factory and services sectors, rose to 50.7 in June from 50.5 in May, reported the NBS.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.5%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.4%; the Australian ASX 200 rose 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was steady, and the Thai Set advanced 0.7%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.

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