Asia shares off to sluggish start, China data soft

By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian share markets got off to a slow start on Monday as disappointing Chinese economic data fed doubts last week’s rally on Wall Street could be sustained in the face of determined policy tightening by global central banks. China’s factory activity actually contracted in July as fresh virus flare-ups weighed on demand. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in July, missing forecasts for 50.4. That did not bode well for the raft of PMIs due this week, including the influential U.S. ISM survey, while the July payrolls report on…

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