Asia markets mixed as China’s factory activity contracts for fifth straight month

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed as China’s factory activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 49.7, representing a softer rate of contraction compared with the 49.4 expected by economists polled by Reuters and July’s figure of 49.3.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.23%, paring earlier gains. Mainland Chinese stocks were in negative territory, with the CSI 300 index down about 0.6%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.6% and the Topix was up 0.68%, as the country saw its retail sales jump more than expected in July, climbing 6.8% year on year, compared with the 5.4% rise expected by a Reuters poll.

However, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.42% as industrial production slid 8% year-on-year in July, marking its 10th straight month of contraction. The Kosdaq was marginally higher.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was below the flat line, after marking three straight days of gains this week.

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.

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

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

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