Asian stock markets got off to a mixed start on Monday ahead of key manufacturing data from China. Beijing is due to report its official purchasing manager's index (PMI) for August at 9am SIN/HK. Reuters sees the figure falling to 51.2 from 51.7 in July. 45 minutes later, HSBC will reveal its final PMI reading. The bank's preliminary reading earlier this month came in at a three-month low of 50.3.
Caution ahead of key central bank meetings this week, including the widely-anticipated European Central Bank review on Thursday, also weighed on sentiment.
"Global markets are in for a big week on the central bank front, with the RBA, BoE, BoJ, BoC and ECB all set to meet. In the background will be the threat of Russia/Ukraine tension derailing the recovery. As a result, while investors will be optimistic about potential central bank action, particularly from the ECB, there is likely to be a degree of caution exercised," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG, in a note.
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