China Leads The Way Lower

A mostly negative session for markets in the Asia-Pac region, shaking off a positive lead from the US where major indices once again hit record highs. Bourses in China lead the way lower with losses of around 1.4%; PMI data fell with non-manufacturing in contractionary territory while the regulatory crackdown continues. The CSRC said it will target private equity funds that are sold to the general public instead of targeted investors in a bid to address embezzlement of assets. Chinese President Xi said China must strengthen anti-monopoly work and will push forward reform. Markets in Japan are also lower, Japanese media suggested that PM Suga considers a plan to hold the general election on Oct 17. In South Korea markets managed to stay in positive territory after the government announced plans for another expansionary budget that is 8.3% bigger than the current year. In the US futures are higher, the S&P 500 recorded a record high yesterday – the 12^th in August. Markets look ahead to CPI and GDP data from around Europe later today and will have one eye on US NFP figures later this week.