BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday after Japanese factory activity and Chinese service industry growth weakened.
Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Tokyo gained. Oil prices edged lower.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.4 percent on Wednesday after the U.S. government cut its estimate of economic growth for the second quarter to a still-robust level.
Traders hope that and this week’s updates on hiring and consumer inflation will convince the Federal Reserve prices are under control and no more interest rate hikes are needed.
Official data showed Japanese factory activity shrank by 2 percent from the previous month in July. A sur…
Keep on reading: Asian markets lower after Japanese factory activity, China services weaken
