Asia report: Stocks mostly higher after Chinese factory survey numbers
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Wednesday 01 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - Asian stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday, despite lawmakers' on Capitol Hill failure to reach an agreement overnight on a stopgap funding bill, resulting in a partial government shutdown of unknown duration.
Better-than-expected Chinese survey data however helped to steady investor sentiment, together with another move back higher on Wall Street.
"The curtain has fallen on Washington, and the stage lights dimmed not because of policy triumph but because the actors refused to play their parts," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
"The United States government has entered shutdown mode-Congressional deadlock snapping the machinery of the world's largest employer. This is not a clean break, more a jammed gear in an already overstretched engine, but traders know the damage isn't only about furloughed clerks. It's about the missing data."
Japan's Nikkei-225 gave up 0.85% to trade 44,550.85, but South Korea's Kospi tacked on 0.91% to reach 3,455.83, India's BSE 100 was up by 0.55% to 25,953.37, Taiwan's TAIEX by 0.63% to 25,982.91 and Australia's All Ordinaries by 0.01% to 9,136.60.
Stock markets in China and Hong Kong remained closed in observance of National Day.
Risk aversion from the stand-off in the US capital saw USD/JPY drop 0.54% to 147.10 on risk aversion, whilst prompt-dated COMEX gold futures advanced 0.41% to $3,889.10/oz., having briefly topped the $3,900/oz. mark in overnight trading.
Innes was referring to the release of Friday's monthly non-farm payrolls figures in the US, which were now likely to be postponed.
Likely boosting stock prices around the region were better-than-expected prints on two closely-followed surveys of factory sector activity in China.
The official manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index was reported at 49.8 for September versus 49.4 in August, which was a tad ahead of consensus.
In parallel, the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI came in at 51.2 after a reading of 50.5 for the previous month, which was also ahead of forecasts.
A separate survey from RatingDog covering services ticked lower from 53.0 to 52.9.
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