Asia markets were mixed on Thursday, as traders digested another round of Chinese data, as well as interest rate decisions from central banks in New Zealand and South Korea.
The Nikkei 225 restored 210.15 points, or 1.3%, to 16,852.35
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 11.84 points, or 0.1%, to 19,984.42
On the currency front, the Japanese yen retreated against the dollar, with the U.S. dollar/yen pair climbing over the 113 handle. At last notice, the pair traded up 0.2% at 113.52.
Major Japanese exporters closed mostly up, with shares of Toyota higher by 3%, Nissan advancing 2.1% and Honda up by 1.6% A weaker yen is usually a positive for exporters as it increases their overseas profits when converted into local currency.
In corporate news, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported Wednesday evening that Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, was now conducting a thorough financial assessment of troubled electronics maker Sharp. The Nikkei said Foxconn's goal is to complete the acquisition of Sharp before the latter's bank loans expire at the end of March.
Nikkei said Sharp has about 500 billion yen in loans from its two main creditors, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ that are due to expire on March 31.
Sharp shares closed down 2.5% while Foxconn shares were up 0.2%.
Energy plays in the region were mixed, with Santos adding 1.1%, Woodside Petroleum lower by 0.6%, Inpex gaining 1.9% and Japan Petroleum up 1.5% Chinese mainland oil plays were broadly lower, with Sinopec losing 2.4% and PetroChina down 1.7%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) surprised markets this morning with an interest rate cut. The central bank reduced its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%.
A majority of the economists polled by Reuters expected the bank to stand pat on rates.
Immediately after the decision the New Zealand dollar tumbled more than a cent against the greenback to just over $0.66, from $0.68 before the decision was announced. Since then, the pair was lower by 0.4% to 0.6626.
In South Korea, the central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a ninth straight month, in line with market expectations. The Bank of Korea held its base rate at 1.5%.
The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar in afternoon trade, with the pair trading lower by 0.7% at 1,199.94 in the afternoon.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index retreated 58.76 points, or 1.9%, to 3,013.15
Government data released earlier in the day showed consumer prices on the mainland accelerated to a six-month high in February, as seasonal distortions caused food prices to spike.
Consumer price inflation rose 2.3% from a year earlier, faster than January's 1.8% rise and well above expectations for a 1.9% rise. February's expansion was the fastest annual pace of growth since July 2014
The Chinese yuan was near flat against the dollar at 6.5144 in the afternoon local time. Prior to the market open, the PBOC set the yuan mid-point fix at 6.5127 compared to Wednesday's fix of 6.5106.
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 16.38 points, or 0.8%, to 1,969.33
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index restored 26.59 points, or 0.3%, to 8,660.70
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 1.31 points, or 0.1%, to 2,809.12
The NZX 50 in New Zealand gained 51.02 points, or 0.8%, to 6,508.28.
In Australia, the ASX 200 faded 7.12 points, or 0.1%, to 5,150.07
