Asia markets set for mixed open ahead of China’s factory activity data

Asia-Pacific markets are set for a mixed open as investors brace for China’s August factory activity data.

The world’s second-largest economy is forecast to see a fifth straight month of contraction in the manufacturing sector, according to a Reuters poll.

Economists polled are expecting the purchasing managers index to come in at 49.4, representing a softer rate of contraction compared with June’s 49.3.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 18,544, pointing to a stronger open compared with the HSI’s close of 18,482.86.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is also set for a positive open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 32,380 and its counterpart in Osaka at 32,410 against the index’s last close of 32,333. Japan will release its retail sales data, as well as its preliminary industrial output figures for July on Thursday.

However, futures for the Australian S&P/ASX 200 point to a lower open, at 7,263 compared with the last close of 7,297.7.

On Wednesday in the U.S., all three major indexes gained, with the S&P 500 notching a four-day winning streak, as investors assess new U.S. economic data.

The broad-market index climbed 0.38%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.11%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.54%.

Separately, U.S. annual gross domestic product growth was downwardly revised on Wednesday to 2.1% from the previous 2.4% forecast.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report