HONG KONG, Oct 1: Asian shares were mostly lower on Monday as Chinese manufacturing activity slipped, Japanese business confidence fell, and worries persisted over the eurozone debt crisis.

In Tokyo the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.83 per cent, or 73.65 points, at 8,796.51, and Singapore slipped 0.08 per cent, or 2.48 points, to 3,057.86, but Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 crept up 0.04 per cent, or 1.6 points, to 4,388.6.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were all closed for public holidays. The falls came after Wall Street dropped on Friday and official data on Monday showed manufacturing activity in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, contracted for a second straight month in September.

The government’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.8, falling short of expectations. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below points to contraction. It came after British bank HSBC at the weekend released its own PMI of 47.9, its 11th consecutive month of contraction.

“The manufacturing side is still very weak,” said independent economist Andy Xie, citing sluggish exports and a property slump as factors.

“You go around the country, you can see all the cranes standing there, not working.” China’s economic growth slowed to 7.6 per cent in the three months to June, its weakest since the height of the global financial crisis three years ago.

Beijing has expressed confidence it will achieve its 2012 economic growth target of 7.5 per cent, though that would mark a sharp slowdown from 9.3 per cent last year and 10.4 per cent in 2010.

Lee Kok Joo, head of research at Phillip Securities in Singapore, told Dow Jones Newswires: “The macro picture is still in contraction mode.

Investors are still very cautious of going into the market.” In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan said confidence among large manufacturers worsened in the quarter ended September, with businesses suffering from a territorial spat with Beijing over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Auto giants Toyota and Nissan said last week they would cut production in China, Japan’s largest trading partner, because demand for Japanese cars has dropped.

In other markets: Taipei fell 0.51 per cent, or 39.44 points, to 7,675.72.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co shed 1.0 per cent to Tw$88.9 while leading smartphone maker HTC gained 2.29 per cent at Tw$290.5.

Wellington closed off 0.11 per cent, or 4.12 points, to 3,830.03. Telecom Corp was 0.63 per cent down at NZ$2.36.

Manila was down 0.70 per cent, or 37.50 points, to 5,308.52. Top-traded Ayala Corp. slipped 1.69 per cent to 419 pesos while Alliance Global Group Inc. slipped 0.63 per cent to 14.60 pesos.

Kuala Lumpur was up 0.41 per cent, or 6.65 points, to 1,643.31. Genting Malaysia gained 2.6 per cent to 3.59 ringgit, while UEM Land Holdings Bhd added 2.4 per cent to 1.72. Telekom Malaysia lost 0.8 per cent to 6.14 ringgit.

Jakarta fell 0.62 per cent, or 26.27 points, to 4,236.29. Vale Indonesia fell 2.5 per cent to 2,875 rupiah, Indo Tambangraya lost 2.1 per cent to 41,250 rupiah, while Gudang Garam rose 5.3 per cent to 48,900 rupiah.

Bangkok gained 0.07 per cent or 0.92 points to 1,299.71. Coal producer Banpu added 1.79 per cent to 399.00 baht, while electricity firm EGCO edged up 0.77 per cent to 131.00 baht.

Mumbai rose 0.33 per cent, or 61.17 points, to 18,823.91. Leading software outsourcer Infosys rose 2.96 per cent to 2,609.1 rupees ahead of its quarterly results due later this month, while vehicle maker Tata Motors rose 2.65 per cent to 274.55 rupees.—AFP