BEIJING — Major Asian stock markets fell Monday after Japan reported weaker-than-expected growth in factory output and Chinese manufacturing growth was flat.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated while Seoul swung between small gains and losses.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index ended last week higher for a monthly gain in May of 0.5%.
Investors are wavering between optimism about consumer spending and factory output reviving and unease that rising inflation pressure might prompt governments and central banks to withdraw stimulus.
“It still feels like a market looking for direction in the face of uncertainty,” said Patrik Schowitz of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report.
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP,
The Nikkei 225 NIK,
The Hang Seng HSI,
The S&P/ASX 200 XJO,
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 SPX,
The index ended up for May after a bumpy few weeks of selling by investors who focused on the conflict between economic recovery and inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that personal consumption expenditures, a measure of inflation used by the Federal Reserve, rose by 3.6% in April. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, inflation 3.1%, well above the Fed’s long-term target of 2%.
Fed officials said earlier the economy would be allowed to “run hot” to make sure a recovery is established, but investors worried the U.S. and other central banks might feel pressure to withdraw stimulus after unexpectedly sharp rises in prices of consumer goods and some commodities. They have been at least temporarily reassured by comments from Fed officials who say it is too early to change direction.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLN21,
The dollar USDJPY,
