Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday following the release of Caixin PMI data from China, which was at an 11-month low, and as the yuan hit a seven-month high.
The Nikkei 225 sprang to life, jumping 209.46 points, or 1.1%, to 19,860.03
The U.S. dollar gained against the yen. Late afternoon Thursday, the greenback fetched 111.02 yen, off lows around 110.65 seen in the overnight session.
The Hang Seng Index vaulted 148.57 points, or 0.6%, to 25,809.22
CHINA
The CSI 300 gained 4.86 points, or 0.1%, to 3,497.74
The on-shore yuan traded at 6.7987 to the U.S. dollar late Thursday afternoon. The dollar had traded as low as 6.7830 yuan earlier in the session, levels not seen since last November.
Before markets opened in China, the People's Bank of China set the yuan mid-point at 6.8090 to the dollar — its strongest level in seven months. China's central bank lets the yuan spot rate rise or fall a maximum of 2% against the greenback, relative to the official fixing rate.
In the offshore market, where the yuan is more freely traded, the currency fetched 6.7518 to the U.S. dollar.
This followed the release of Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index figures for China in the month of May. The data showed factory activity fell to an 11-month low, coming in at 49.6 compared to the 50.1 forecast.
The Caixin PMI read weighed on the Australian dollar, which fetched as high as $0.7454 earlier on the back of domestic retail sales figures.
The Aussie traded at $0.7407 against the U.S. dollar.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index regained 46.7 points, or 0.5%, to 10,087.42
In Korea, the Kospi index settled 2.77 points, or 0.1%, to 2,344.61
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 25.14 points, or 0.8%, to 3,235.96
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 32 points, or 0.4%, to 7,450.90
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 13.56 points, or 0.2%, to 5,738.13
