Asia stocks mixed as Chinese economic data disappoints; automakers tumble

Mainland Chinese stocks rose in early trade, with the Shanghai compositeadding 0.22% and the Shenzhen component gaining 0.18%. The Shenzhen composite rose around 0.275%

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 0.12%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225, on the other hand, fell 0.66% in morning trade, with the Topix index also trading down by 0.57%. Automakers tumbled across the board, with Nissan dropping 3.30% and Toyota falling 2.21%.

Over in Australia, the ASX 200 traded flat.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.38%. Auto stocks, however, saw declines, with Kia Motors tumbling 2.91%.

The moves in the region came as China’s manufacturing activity declined more than expected in May.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for May came in at 49.4, versus expectations of 49.9 by economists polled by Reuters. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction.

Meanwhile, futures pointed to significant declines for the major indexes on Wall Street at Friday’s open stateside after U.S. President Donald Trumpannounced that fresh tariffs would be slapped on all Mexican goods starting from June 10.

Shares on Thursday had just staged a partial recovery from their losses in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 43.47 points higher at 25,169.88, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to end its trading day at 2,788.86. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% to close at 7,567.72. The major indexes had closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow dropping more than 200 points.

The S&P 500 is down more than 5% this month and remains below 2,800 — a key level watched by traders — for the first time since late March.

The ongoing trade fight between the U.S. and China also continues to weigh on markets, following a recent escalation in rhetoric.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said Thursday that provoking trade disputes amounted to “naked economic terrorism. ” Also, China has reportedly halted soy purchases from the U.S.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.115 after touching an earlier low of 98.091.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.37 against the dollar after seeing lows above 109.6 in the previous session, while the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6911 after declining from highs above $0.692 yesterday.

Oil markets continued their slide in the morning of Asian trading hours on Friday. Brent crude futures fell by 1.03% to $66.18 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures also declined 0.74% to $56.17 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert and Huileng Tan contributed to this report.