Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday as China’s factory activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index popped 285.88 points, or 0.9%, to 32,619.34.
The country saw its retail sales jump more than expected in July, climbing 6.8% year on year, compared with the 5.4% rise expected by a Reuters poll.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slumped 100.8 points, or 0.6%, to 18,382.06.
Australian markets extended gains Thursday, marking four straight days of gains this week.
However, Korean markets fell as industrial production slid 8% year-on-year in July, marking its 10th straight month of contraction.
In other markets
The CSI 300 deleted 23.24 points, or 0.6%, to 3,765,27.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index retreated 85.31 points, or 0.5%, to 16,634.51.
In Korea, the Kospi index subtracted 4.95 points, or 0.2%, to 2,556.27.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 13.08 points, or 0.4%, to 3,233.30.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 33.36 points, or 0.3%, to 11,554.48.
In Australia, ASX 200 strengthened 7.52 points, or 0.1%, to 7,305.27.
