Asian stocks pared gains after reports showed growth in China’s industrial output and retail sales missed estimates, adding to concern about the outlook for the region’s biggest economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 14.41 points, or 0.1%, to 14,815.98
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell another 145.87 points, or 0.7%, to 21,756.08
Jiangxi Copper Co. rose 1.5% in Hong Kong, retreating from an advance of as much as 3.7% as the China data added to sign of an economic slowdown, making the government’s 2014 expansion target harder to reach.
Among stocks that declined, China Overseas Land dropped 4.1% to HK$18.80. Profit excluding revaluations, or core profit, increased 20% from 2012 to HK$19 billion ($2.45 billion U.S.), the company said in a Hong Kong bourse filing. That was below an average estimate of HK$19.7 billion from a survey of analysts.
China Resources Land Ltd. slid 3.3% to HK$15.70. Country Garden Holdings Co. tumbled 11% to HK$3.56 after its shares were downgraded at UBS AG and China International Capital Corp.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract manufacturer of chips, surged 3.1% to a record NT$116.50 in Taipei after boosting its first-quarter sales forecast on stronger demand for mobile phones.
NCSoft Corp. jumped 8.6% in Seoul, the biggest increase since August 2009, after announcing plans to release an online game in the U.S. and Europe in June. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. sank 4.1% after the developer posted underlying profit that missed analyst projections.
Australia’s index advanced as companies in the country boosted full-time payrolls in February by the most in more than 22 years, signaling the central bank’s bid to spur local demand with record-low interest rates is gaining traction.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest mining company, climbed 2.7% to A$63.07 in Sydney. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. rose 3% to A$5.12.
New Zealand’s index gained as the nation’s central bank raised its key interest rate, the first developed nation to exit record-low borrowing costs this year, and said it plans to remove stimulus faster than earlier forecast to contain prices.
South Korea’s Kospi index added a bit of strength, as the nation’s central bank left its key rate unchanged, supporting a rebound in growth as Kim Choong Soo gets ready to pass the reins to a new governor who will face risks from record household debt to U.S. monetary tapering.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index gained 26.20 points, or 1.2%, to 2,140.33
China’s factory production increased 8.6% in the January-February period from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today in Beijing, compared with the 9.5% median projection of analysts
Chinese developers also fell after government data released today showed mainland home sales fell 5% in the first two months of the year to 598.5 billion ($97.5 billion U.S.) from the year-earlier period.
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex regained 63.60 points, or 0.7%, to 8,747.79
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 16.04 points, or 0.5%, to 3,081.39
Korea’s Kospi Index eked up 1.84 points, or 0.1%, to 1,934.38
The New Zealand Exchange 50 index improved 15.45 points, or 0.3%, to 5,111.98
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 regained 28.42 points, or 0.5%, to 5,412.61.
