HSI Flat In Half-day Trade

Hong Kong stocks went into Tuesday's lunch break barely moved as Asian markets swung through the morning following a mixed lead from Wall Street, with eyes on US jobs data later in the week.

The Hang Seng Index inched down 5 points to 25,171.

Major Asian share indexes meandered between modest gains and losses.

Australia’s benchmark led the declines, falling more than 1 percent ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia decision that is expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

Newly released manufacturing data from Japan showed factory activity slightly improved, though still in contraction.

The Japanese government reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July stood at 2.9 percent, little changed from recent months.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was flat at 23,138.

South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2 percent, to 2,352.

The Shanghai Composite index inched 0.1 percent higher, to 3,398. (AP/AFP)