China manufacturing data, South Korea CPI

Australia’s stock market opened lower on the last trading day of the year, while investors in Asia awaited manufacturing data from China.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.56% lower on a shortened trading day.

The stock markets of Japan and South Korea are closed for the New Year holiday. South Korea’s consumer inflation accelerated in December, increase of 1.9% year on year. The CPI reached 1.5% in November. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.4%.

Traders are monitoring China’s manufacturing PMI for December. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a reading of 50.3, the same as November’s PMI. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of activity, while a figure below that level indicates contraction.

Hong Kong stock markets will be have an abbreviated trading day.

Overnight in the United States, stocks moved lower in one of the final trading sessions of 2024, as a banner year for investors seems to end on a sour note.

Trading was choppy throughout the day, and the Dow fell more than 700 points to session lows. There was no apparent news catalyst for Monday’s decline, and trading was expected to be light given the short week.

U Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 418.48 points, or 0.97%, to close at 42,573.73. U S&P 500 fell 1.07% to 5,906.94, and the Nasdaq Composite it dropped 1.19% to 19,486.78.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.