Asia Pacific markets declined Thursday as a private survey showed Chinese factory activity contracted in July while official data revealed South Korea's exports fell. Mainland Chinese stocks slipped on the day: The Shanghai composite fell 0.81% to about 2,908.77 and the Shenzhen component declined 0.63% to 9,268.05. The Shenzhen composite shed 0.524% to approximately 1,563.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.76% to close at 27,565.70. Hong Kong-listed shares of Standard Chartered jumped 2.93% after the lender announced a larger-than-expected first half profit. The benchmark Kospi in South Korea ended its trading day down 0.36% at 2,017.34. Shares of major chipmaker SK Hynix were up 1.04% while Samsung Electronics declined 0.33%. Trade numbers for July showed South Korean exports fell 11% on-year, which was slightly better than the 11.3% drop analysts had predicted. In particular, semiconductor exports dropped 28.1%, Reuters reported. Imports declined 2.7% compared to the 8.1% drop expected.

South Korea-Japan dispute

The trade numbers came amid an ongoing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo. Last month, Japan placed restrictions on exports of important high-tech materials to South Korea that are used by tech companies. The situation could escalate further if Japan removes South Korea from a list of trusted trade partners that enjoy preferential treatment. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet plans to endorse Seoul's removal from the so-called "white list," which is expected to go into effect late August, the Nikkei business daily reported. On Thursday, South Korea said its security cooperation with Japan may be hurt if Tokyo removes the country from the list after ministerial talks in Thailand failed to yield any results, Reuters reported. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed fractionally higher at 21,540.99 while the Topix index added 0.14% to at 1,567.35. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.35% to close at 6,788.90, as most sectors slipped. Shares of Australian miner Lynas dropped 3.07% as the future of an operating license renewal in Malaysia remains in question for the world's only major rare earths producer outside China. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday that the country is waiting for the company's plan for radioactive waste management ahead of a renewal deadline of Sept. 2. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index declined 0.82%.

Chinese factory activity shrinks in July

A private survey showed Chinese factory activity contracted in July. The Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 49.9 — slightly better than the 49.6 reading analysts had expected. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction. That number came after official data released Wednesday showed Chinese factory activity contracting for the third straight month in July. Beijing's ongoing trade war with Washington was "part of the story" in China's economic slowdown, according to Fraser Howie, an independent analyst. "I think certainly from a sentiment perspective, the trade war is very significant," he told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Thursday. But it wasn't the "main driver" of China's economic story. "The stories are domestic," he said. "There are a lot of problems there, China's not on the brink of collapse. I wouldn't say it's nicely humming along, I would say it's more muddling through." The United States and China wrapped up a round of trade talks on Wednesday and will resume negotiations in Washington in early September. The two sides conducted "frank, efficient and constructive in-depth exchanges" on major economic and trade issues, according to Chinese state-run media Xinhua. The White House said Wednesday that both sides discussed topics such as forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights, services, non-tariff barriers and agriculture. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a truce in June at the G-20 summit in Japan after trade talks collapsed in May that prompted a steep U.S. tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

Fed rate cut

Overnight, the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points in a widely expected move, citing "global developments" and "muted inflation" as reasons. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dampened hopes of further rate cuts later this year. He told reporters that Wednesday's rate cut was "not the beginning of a long series of rate cuts." "Powell suggested the Fed isn't in a long cutting cycle and that the cut was aimed at insuring against downside global risks, he also added that the cut was not necessarily a one-off," Felicity Emmett, from ANZ Research, wrote in a morning note. "This suggests the future policy path will depend on whether global data is feeding negatively back into the US. So far, the manufacturing sector has shown weakness in line with the global slump, but the much larger services sector is holding up," Emmett added.

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