To start the first trading week of the year, markets in the Asia-Pacific region moved in a mixed manner.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped 1.3% on the first trading day of 2023. The Kospi in South Korea was flat after having recovered most of its initial losses, while the Kosdaq rose 0.4% in the afternoon Asian trading session.
The Shanghai Composite on the mainland jumped 0.67%, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.65%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led advances in the region, trading 1.39% higher.
On the heels of an increase in Covid infections, the Caixin purchasing managers’ index revealed significant decreases in factory activity. The survey also revealed that corporate confidence in the 12-month production outlook increased to its highest level since February.
According to a report from Nikkei over the weekend, the Bank of Japan is apparently thinking about increasing its inflation projections for January in order to move a little bit closer to the central bank’s aim of 2% in the fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Major indices in the United States ended 2022 with their largest losses since 2008, each breaking a run of three years of victories. The Dow concluded at 8.8%, the Nasdaq dropped 33.1%, and the S&P 500 lost 19.4% for the year.