Asia markets mostly fall on the last trading day, tracking sell-off on Wall Street; traders assess China’s PMI data

Asia-Pacific markets trade mostly lower on Tuesday, tracking a negative session on Wall Street overnight due to a further tech sell-off. Fresh data from China also pressured the sentiment, after factory activity in the mainland grew less than expected amid shortened trading hours. Trading activity will end early today ahead of the New Year break. Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for the New Year holiday. Japan ( NKY:IND ) market closed. The Japanese yen rose to around 156.4 per dollar on Tuesday, extending recent gains ahead of the midweek New Year’s holiday closures. The yen is on track for a more than 10% drop in 2024, its fourth consecutive year of decline against the dollar. China ( SHCOMP ) fell -1.16% to 3,399, while the Shenzhen Component dropped 0.8% to 10,585 on Monday, reversing gains from the previous session as investors digested the latest PMI figures, and the offshore yuan held steady at around 7.30 per dollar. Sentiment was uplifted by official PMI data from China, indicating that factory activity in December grew for the third month, despite a slower rate of increase. Meanwhile, the service sector rose the most in nine months, following stabilization in November. Investors now await the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing manager’s index, scheduled to release on Thursday. Hong Kong ( HSI ) rose +0.09% to 20,123 in morning deals on the last trading day of 2024, swinging from a weak session the prior day. India ( SENSEX ) fell -0.27% to 77,789 in morning deals on the last trading day of 2024 Australia ( AS51 ) fell -0.92% to close at 8,159 on the final trading day of 2024, sliding for the second straight session. The South Korean won fell past 1,470 per dollar, giving back gains from the previous session to stay at 16-year lows as emerging Asia's weakest currency, weighed by political tensions, economic struggles, and US tariff fears. South Korea's annual inflation rate increased to 1.9% in December 2024, up from 1.5% in November, faster than the market's expectations of 1.7%. In the U.S., on Monday, all three major indexes ended in red extending their decline from Friday's Big Tech-led selloff. U.S. stock futures were mainly lower on the final trading day of 2024, as holiday volatility weighed on markets amid continued losses in tech stocks: Dow +0.02%; S&P 500 -0.06% ; Nasdaq -0.04% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: China's Dec factory activity grows at slower rate for third month, service sector rises most in nine months Japan's December manufacturing PMI fall at slower pace, for sixth straight month BOJ's Dec summary raises expectations of rate hike soon; keeps policy rate steady at 0.25% Japan's retail sales growth accelerates, industrial output contracts; jobless rate remains steady RBA minutes: Underscores need to maintain restrictive monetary policy for the time being