Asian stock markets fell on Thursday, dragged down China's manufacturing contraction, the addition of a crumbling world's second largest economy recovery is slowing down.
HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers index fell to 50.4 from April's seven-month low of 49.6 in May. Figure below 50 indicates contraction in activity. Analysts had expected a slight decline to 50.3 last month.
Investors are also cringe stocks mixed after the news by the Federal Reserve Board in its massive bond-buying program, futuristic Wall Street roller coaster.
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier, too early, the central bank, its monetary stimulus to pull back. The Fed has been buying a lot of government bonds and keep short-term interest rates close to zero, in order to encourage individuals and businesses borrow and spend more.
The Dow closed down, however, from the Fed's latest policy meeting minutes released show that some Fed officials are willing to reduce the stimulus plan, known as quantitative easing, or QE, back in June, if the economic recovery.
Investors have flocked to stocks because bond yields have decreased due to the Fed's efforts to keep interest rates. Bu Fed minutes sowed doubts whether the stock market will continue to huge gains. There are also worried about how the economy will perform monetary stimulus, once withdrawn, another negative for stocks.
"Bernanke hopes tapering of quantitative easing before the wait and see how the data is expanded three or four more hawkish members felt that they had seen enough, the absence of surprises, I hope to get started early In June, an analyst at DBS Bank Ltd, said: "in Singapore.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.7 percent, to 22,867.47 points. South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.7% to 1,980.21 points. Australia's S & P / ASX 200 index fell 1.9% to 5,069.60 points. In Singapore, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland benchmark has declined.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index bucked the trend, rising 0.2 percent, to 15,662.95.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, to close at 15,307.17 points. Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.8% to 1,655.35 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1 percent, to 3,463.30.
In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark crude for July delivery fell 59 cents to $ 93.69 a barrel. On Wednesday the contract fell $ 1.90 to settle at $ 94.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In currencies, the euro $ 1.2842 from $ 1.2845 late Wednesday in New York. Fell to 103.04 from $ 103.15.
 
 



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