Hong Kong stocks inched into the green Wednesday, rebounding from the previous losses, as a preliminary reading of China’s manufacturing activity surprised to the upside and printed at a four-month high.
The Nikkei 225 index slid 18.28 points, or 0.1%, to 18,585.20, breaking a five-session win streak. Meanwhile, the yen was a little stronger versus the U.S. dollar, trading at ¥118.83 from ¥118.89 late Tuesday in New York.
The Hang Seng Index revived 28.21 points, or 0.1%, to 24,778.28.
HSBC’s "flash" China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.1 in February, back above the 50-level separating expansion from contraction, compared with a final read of 49.7 in the previous month, data showed Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, market movers included Sino-British banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC, recovering 0.9% after a 3.5% slide in the previous session.
Among other major index components, China Resources Land Ltd climbed 2.2%, China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. advanced 2%, and both Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. gained 0.5%.
In other markets;
Markets in Shanghai returned from Lunar New Year holiday, the Shanghai CSI 300 finishing lower Wednesday by 43.59 points, or 1.2%, to 3,478.73
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched up 3.22 points, or 0.1%, to 3,440.83
The Taiex index in Taiwan vaulted 70.17 points, or 0.7%, to 9,699.54
The Kospi index in Korea moved up 14.35 points, or 0.7%, to 1,990.47
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 jumped 119.33 points, or 2.1%, to 5,842.29
The S&P/ASX index gained 17.92 points, or 0.3%, to 5,944.91
