China’s factory activity in October expanded at a slower pace as new orders and output both waned amid tariff anxiety, a private-sector survey showed on Monday.
The US consumer's durability as a prop for the economy may be tested in coming weeks as family budgets, particularly among the less affluent, are stressed by rising healthcare costs, the potential loss of federal food benefits, and a wobbly job market outlook that is already taking a toll on earnings.
The world's big manufacturing economies struggled to fire up in October, business surveys showed on Monday, as weak US demand and President Donald Trump's tariffs hit factory orders.
US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook said she sees the risk of further labour-market weakness as greater than the risk that inflation will pick up, but stopped short of endorsing another interest-rate cut next month.
Renewed weakness in new manufacturing orders in October signalled softer demand conditions ahead for Malaysia, economists said, after the S&P Global purchasing managers index (PMI) eased to 49.5 from 49.8 in September, remaining below the 50-point expansion threshold.
Asian equities edged lower on Tuesday along with equity-index futures after weaker US economic data and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy outlook weighed on sentiment.