** Hang Seng Index inched up 0.09% by the midday break, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 0.06%.
** Investors are cautiously evaluating the mixed data over the long weekend to measure the pace of China recovery.
** China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly shrank in
April but mobility indicators suggest the current long Labour
Day holiday likely hit a record in terms of number of
travellers.
** "China's service sector continues to grow strongly while
the manufacturing sector shows signs of weakening," said Zhiwei
Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
** These mixed signals will likely keep the pressure on the
government to continue its supportive fiscal and monetary
policies in the second quarter.
** Meanwhile on the geopolitical front, President Joe Biden
told his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the
U.S. commitment to the defence of its ally was "ironclad,"
including in the South China Sea, where Manila is under pressure
from China.
** Hong Kong's economy grew 2.7% in the first quarter of
2023, John Lee, the leader of the Asian financial hub, said in a
surprise announcement ahead of the 0830 GMT release of official
data, to snap four consecutive quarters of contraction.
** HK-listed gambling stocks jumped 1.8% after
Macau announced April gambling revenue soared 449.9%
year-on-year, big tech firms also picked up 0.4%.
** China's domestic stock exchanges will be closed May 2 and May 3 for the Labour Day holiday and will resume trading on May 4. (Reporting by Summer Zhen; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
