China manufacting gauge shows November contraction (by Michael Kitchen)

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- HSBC's initial "flash" reading of its China manufacturing survey fell to a contractionary reading of 48.0 for November, well below forecast and swinging from a mildly expansionary 51.0 reading for October. Forecasts for the HSBC flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index had called for a 50.1 result, just about the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. The flash PMI includes roughly 85%-90% of total responses which comprise the final version, due out next week. Stocks across much of Asia extended losses following the data, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) trading down 2.2%.