By Chao Deng
Stocks in Taiwan fell Monday after the island's Beijing-friendly
ruling party suffered a massive defeat in local elections Saturday,
while elsewhere in the region, markets were mixed after
disappointing factory-activity data from China.
Taiwan's Taiex was down 1.3% to 9065.86 with local-election
results expected to complicate the island's fraught relations with
China, its main export market. Trade deals have given Taiwanese
fruit growers, fish farmers and other businesses preferential
access to the mainland market.
Futures for the Hang Seng Index were down 0.5%, after China
reported manufacturing activity at a level of 50.3, below
expectations for 50.6 and down from 50.8 in October. A reading
above 50 indicates expansion of activity, while a reading below
that level signals contraction.
Elsewhere in the region, slumping oil prices continued to
reverberate through the energy sector.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 was down 0.9% at 5265.20, extending
sharp losses from Friday when crude prices plummeted.
A gauge of energy stocks was down 4.4%, more than offsetting
gains in oil price sensitive airlines and select financial shares.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. was down 4.3%, Santos Ltd. lost 5.4% and
Oil Search Ltd. had fallen 7.4%.
Crude oil futures were last down 2.8% to $64.30 a barrel, as
traders factored a decision Thursday by the world's biggest oil
producing nations to stick with their current target levels of
production, a move that suggests a continued glut and oil prices
remaining around multiyear lows.
Stocks in Japan were a bright spot, however. The Nikkei Stock
Average was up 1.0% at 17631.28 after reports of brisk sales from
U.S. retailers for Black Friday, the traditional start to the
holiday-shopping season and one of the biggest online shopping days
of the year.
Korea's Kospi was down 0.7% to 1966.36.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com
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