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The main Asian indices mostly declined up to 1.4%. Only Shanghai Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slightly rose by 0.2%. Other indicators declined. Shenzhen Composite dropped by 0.33% and Korean KOSPI declined by 0.25%. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost only 0.03%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted by 1.49%.
The main reason for the pessimistic investor sentiment was a decline in US stock indices, which was caused by the release of statistical data on employment in the United States. According to official data, the unemployment rate last month rose to 3.7% compared with 3.5% in July. Moreover, the indicator exceeded experts' expectations, who forecasted it to remain at the same level. This information is likely to contribute to further tightening of the monetary policy by the Fed.
China is tightening measures to combat the pandemic. New restrictive measures are being introduced, citizens are being tested for COVID-19.
Business activity in the industrial sector declined slightly last month to 55 points from July's 55.5 points. Nevertheless, the index is above the 50-point level, indicating an increase in business activity. The indicator was also higher than experts' forecasts, who expected it to fall to 51 points. The overall PMI fell to 53 points last month from July's 54 points.
Among the Hong Kong stock exchange companies, the largest decline was shown by Geely and BYD which dropped by 6.3% and 5.3% respectively. This was contributed by the news that the company of the largest American businessman Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway has decided to sell the second for the last two weeks block of shares of BYD.
JD.com, Inc. dropped by 3.4%, Alibaba Group declined by 2.7%, Xiaomi, Corp. nosedived by 2.9%, and Tencent Holdings, Ltd. lost 3.1%.
At the same time, the price of shares of companies involved in this sector is rising thanks to rising oil prices. PetroChina, Co. gained 1.9%, China Petroleum & Chemical, Corp. increased by 1.7%, and CNOOC soared by 1.5%.
Japanese companies engaged in the oil refining sector are also rising. Sumitomo Metal Mining, Co. increased by 1.9%, Inpex, Corp. added 0.7%, and Softbank Group slightly rose by 0.15%.
The share price of other Japanese companies is declining. Fast Retailing shares fell by 1% and Nissan Motor by 1.6%.
South Korean companies are trading mixed. Securities of Samsung Electronics decreased by 1%, while Hyundai Motor increased by 1.8%.
According to the latest statistics, Australia saw a 1.3% increase in retail sales in July to a peak of A$34.67 billion. This is a record increase in six months.
Shares of the largest Australian companies are showing growth. BHP added 2.6% and Rio Tinto soared by 1.8%.
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