On November 3rd, Asian-Pacific stock markets rallied in early trading, mirroring Wall Street’s gains from the previous session where all three major U.S. indices closed in positive territory. However, Vietnam’s market bucked the regional trend, with both major indices ending the day deep in the red.
At the close, the VN-Index shed 22.65 points (-1.38%), while the HNX-Index dropped 6.67 points (-2.51%). Sellers dominated the market, with 468 decliners outpacing 229 advancers. Similarly, the VN30 basket saw 23 losers, 4 gainers, and 3 unchanged stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.97% to 26,158.36, snapping a three-day losing streak. Mainland China’s CSI 300 reversed early losses, closing 0.27% higher at 4,653.
Investors focused on China’s latest manufacturing data. RatingDog reported a manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 50.6 for October, missing the 50.9 forecast by Reuters-polled economists and down from September’s 51.2.
This aligns with the slowdown signaled by China’s official PMI data released last week, showing October manufacturing activity contracting to a six-month low of 49.
South Korea’s market surged, with the Kospi jumping 2.78% – its biggest one-day gain since June – to a record close of 4,221.87. The small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.57%.
India’s Nifty 50 inched up 0.14%, while the Sensex traded flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.15% to 8,894.8.
Australian investors await the outcome of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) two-day policy meeting starting today. Most economists expect the RBA to hold rates steady after higher-than-expected Q3 inflation data.
Japan’s market was closed for a holiday.
European markets opened the week and month positively. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.4%, with the UK’s FTSE up over 0.2%, Germany’s DAX gaining 0.8%, France’s CAC 40 adding 0.2%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB climbing 0.7%.
In the U.S. on Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.61% to 23,724.96, the S&P 500 gained 0.26% to 6,840.20, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up slightly to 47,562.87.
– 16:27 03/11/2025
