Looking Ahead in Asia

As the third-quarter comes to an end, key economic data will offer investors a look into how Asia’s largest economies fared during the past month.

Focus will fall on China, with the release of September’s final factory activity reports following last week’s preliminary readings. On Tuesday, HSBC publishes its final purchasing manager’s index (PMI) while Beijing’s official figure is due on Wednesday. The bank’s initial estimate unexpectedly rose to 50.5 in September on strong orders, but optimism was offset by factory employment sinking to a five-and-a-half year low.

China’s official services PMI for September is also due later on in the week; traders will look for a continuation of last month’s positive trend. HSBC’s services PMI jumped to a 17-month high of 54.1 in August, while the official PMI rose to 54.4 from July’s six-month low.

CNBC