The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to around 3,983, while the Shenzhen Component lost 0.9% to 13,889 on the first trading day of September, as rising tensions in the Middle East outweighed encouraging signs from China’s manufacturing sector. The US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in nearly a month, with US forces targeting an island in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran responding with attacks on the UAE and Jordan. The renewed hostilities further clouded prospects for a normalization of shipping operations through the key maritime chokepoint.
Domestically, a private survey showed China’s manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.5 in August from a four-month low of 50.9 in July, beating market expectations of 51.0. That came on the heels of official data indicating the manufacturing PMI rose to 49.8 from 49.2, also above the consensus forecast of 49.7. Notable decliners in the session included Foxconn Industrial Internet (-2.1%), SMIC (-1.5%), CATL (-0.8%), and Eoptolink Technology (-1.9%).
