To The Moon

Asia markets mixed after S&P 500 closes at new low for the year; China factory activity expands. Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday, the last day of the third quarter, following another sell-off on Wall Street overnight. China’s official factory activity data unexpectedly expanded in August, beating estimates.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.48% in early trade. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.16% in early trade, while the Shenzhen Component was marginally higher.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.54%, and the Topix index fell 1.18%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.47%.

The Kospi in South Korea declined 0.33% and the Kosdaq shed 0.16%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was marginally higher.

U.S. stocks tumbled in Thursday’s session, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh low for the year and also reaching a new closing low. The index dropped 2.1% to end the session at 3,640.47. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 458.13 points, or 1.54%, to 29,225.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2.84% to 10,737.51.

“Geopolitical and inflation risks are not subsiding, and risk assets are taking the strain as expectations of lower growth and higher funding costs continue to permeate,” analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a Friday note.