By Laura He, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks swung between gains
and losses before closing flat on Monday, after two separate gauges
of China's manufacturing activity both showed a slight slowing last
month.
The HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped
to 50.2 in August from 51.7 in July, HSBC said on Monday. Earlier,
the official manufacturing PMI for last month also fell to 51.1
from 51.7 in July, according to official data
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up less than
0.1%.
Mainland Chinese banks traded mixed, with both Bank of China
Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. down 0.3% in Hong Kong.
China Construction Bank Corp. lost 0.9%, after its interim results
showed a 9% rise in profit but also an increase in nonperforming
loans during the first half of the year. However, China Merchants
Bank Co. ended up 0.3%, after it posted a 16% jump in first-half
net profit.
Several tech stocks were poorly bid, with software developer
Kingdee International Software Group Co. declining 2.4%, game
developer NetDragon Websoft Inc. off 2%, and software developer
Kingsoft Corp. lower by 1.8%.
Other market movers included Macau casino operator Sands China
Ltd. , down 3.2%, local rival Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., off
2.9%, while electric-car maker BYD Co. Ltd. improved by 1.5%, and
auto maker Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. tacked on 1.4%.
In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Average rose 0.3%, the
broader Topix index added 0.4%, while the yen (USDJPY) was softer
against the dollar, trading at Yen104.17 from Yen104.04 a day
earlier.
Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.8% higher,
Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 ticked up 0.1%, while Seoul's Kospi
Composite Index closed flat.
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