Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise as investors parse a slew of data releases

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday as investors parsed details on trade negotiations and a slew of data points, including South Korea and Japan's industrial output figures for May and China's purchasing managers' index readings for June.

China's manufacturing activity contracted for the third consecutive month in June, fueling hopes for more stimulus to cushion the impact of ongoing trade disruptions between the superpower and the U.S.

Mainland China's CSI 300 index rose 0.17%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.51%.

Japanese stocks extended their gains from the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 hitting a six-month high. The 225-share average climbed 1.53%, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.86%.

In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.87%, while the small-cap Kosdaq ticked up 0.67% in choppy trade.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.2%.

U.S. equity futures rose in early Asia hours before the year stretches into the second half.

All three key benchmarks on Wall Street rose sharply in last Friday's session. The broad-based S&P 500 hit a new record in more than four months after ending the session about 0.5% higher at 6,173.07 — overtaking its previous record of 6,147.43.

The Nasdaq Composite also reached an all-time high, closing at a record after adding about 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 1%.

The three benchmarks have staged a sharp recovery this month from the lows seen in April during the height of trade policy tensions. The whipsaw of global trade negotiations can quickly sway market sentiment and pose an ongoing threat to the strength of this rally.

Japan's factory output ticked up 0.5% in March

Japan's industrial production moved up 0.5% in May from the previous month, significantly less than the 3.5% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Industries that mainly contributed to the rise include production machinery and motor vehicles, preliminary data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday showed.

However, weakness came from sectors such as transport equipment, inorganic and organic chemicals as well as electronic parts and devices.

South Korea's factory output declines 2.9% in May, missing expectations

South Korea's factory output declined for the second consecutive month in May, falling short of economists' expectations polled by Reuters.

The industrial production index fell 2.9% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the month earlier, data released by Statistics Korea on Monday showed. This followed a 0.6% decline in April and came in worse than the 0.1% contraction forecasted in a Reuters poll.

On a year-on-year basis, the index increased 0.2% in May, compared to a 5.1% rise posted in the previous month, and the 2.6% tipped by economists polled by Reuters.

Separate data showed that South Korea's retail sales were flat in May, after declining 0.9% in the previous and hitting its lowest level since August 2024, according to LSEG data.