China’s factory activity data misses expectations; Asia-Pacific markets mixed

Australia’s consumer price index for October slowed to 6.9% on an annualized basis, from 7.3% in September, according to a monthly indicator by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The rise in prices for housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as transport led the overall CPI indicator higher.

South Korea and Japan’s industrial production each saw declines for the month of October.

Japan’s preliminary industrial production for October declined 2.6% compared to a month ago, more than expectations of a decline of 1.5%, according to a Reuters poll.

The reading marks the second consecutive decline after seeing a fall of 1.7% the previous month.

South Korea’s industrial production also fell by 3.5% compared with a month ago, also lower than expectations of a decline of 1%. The reading marked the lowest since May 2020, when output declined 6.7%.

– Jihye Lee

China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for November is expected to come in at 49, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

That’s slightly lower than the reading of 49.2 reported in October.

PMI readings are sequential and represent month-on-month changes in activity.

— Abigail Ng

Chinese health authorities said that officials are “closely watching” the developments of Covid when asked if protests in the region would lead to shifts in its zero-Covid policy.

“China has been following and closely watching the virus as it evolves and mutates,” officials said, according to a translation of Tuesday’s briefing.

– Christine Wang, Evelyn Cheng

Goldman Sachs’ Global Head of Commodities Research Jeff Currie told CNBC that historically, oil stocks have traded at a much higher premium to crude oil prices compared to current price levels.

For instance, the price gap between SPDR Oil & Gas ETF and ICE Brent Crude futures contract was about $66.60 on Tuesday. That’s significantly lower than the $104 gap recorded at the start of January 2017, according to Koyfin data, as the chart below shows.

China’s health authorities released a plan to boost elderly vaccination, according to a notice on the National Health Commission’s website.

Hong Kong-listed shares of CanSino Biologics extended gains in the afternoon session and rose as much as 18% shortly after the announcement was posted.

The notice said authorities should use multiple data points to accurately identify target groups for vaccination for the elderly.

Wall Street pros are worried about the outlook for stocks, and are urging investors to stay defensive. These stocks with margin growth could be safe bets.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier…