The release of positive economic statistics in the Asia-Pacific region gave some encouragement to investors, but worries about global economic prospects and further inflation reign supreme among investors. China's manufacturing PMI rose more than two percentage points to 48.1 in May; nevertheless the Shanghai Composite ended yesterday's trading session down 0.13%, the Hang Seng gained 0.56% and only the Shenzhen Composite was up 0.28%. In Japan the same indicator decreased to 53.3, however the results were better than analysts' forecasts (53.2). Nikkei 225 closed on the plus side adding 0.32%. GDP of Australia at the end of the first trimester grew by 3.3% on an annualized basis, compared to the previous quarter growth of 0.8%. S&P/ASX 200 by the end of the day added 0.65%. In South Korea, trading was not held in connection with local elections.