Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday, with choppy trading in China ahead of this week’s Lunar New Year holiday and after data painted a mixed picture of its manufacturing sector.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index regained 36.58 points, or 0.4%, to 10,274.50
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index moved higher by 35.61 points, or 0.2%, to 23,482.90
In Tokyo, Japanese stocks were supported by solid corporate earnings and the euro’s recent gains against the yen.
Among firms that released earnings on Monday, Honda Motor Co. was up 1% after it raised its fiscal year net profit forecast. Inpex Corp. rose 2.3%, helped by Monday’s spike in crude oil prices.
South Korean shares were supported by technology and auto-maker stocks.
Samsung Electronics was up 0.2% and LG Display rose 1.2%.
Auto stocks rebounded on some bargain-hunting after three sessions of weakness, with Hyundai Motor up 1.1% and Kia Motors up 0.9%.
Posco gained 1.5% as investors welcomed news its steel plant project in India received an approval from that country’s environment ministry, after the plan was stalled for five years.
In Sydney, the Reserve Bank of Australia left is benchmark policy rate unchanged at 4.75% after recent devastating floods in Queensland, but analysts said the central bank’s statement contained clues to possible future hikes.
BHP Billiton and Woodside Petroleum were both up 0.8%.
Insurers fell as tropical cyclone Yasi approached the Queensland state.
Suncorp Group Ltd. was down 3%, Insurance Australia Group Ltd. declined 2.1%, while QBE Insurance Group Ltd. fell 1.5%
The euro was at $1.3721 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.3694 in late New York trade Monday, and at ¥112.31 against the yen, from ¥112.35. The dollar was at ¥81.88, from ¥82.04.
CHINA
The Shanghai market was supported by gains in resources and energy stocks after commodity prices surged Monday.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index inched ahead 0.77 points to 3,077.28
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd, or Chalco, was up 2.8% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 0.2%.
China’s official PMI, published by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, fell to 52.9 in January from 53.9 in December.
But a competing PMI put out by HSBC Holdings PLC showed a modest rise to 54.5 from 54.4 in December, suggesting that further policy tightening from Beijing remains in the cards.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The CFLP PMI’s input price subindex, a leading indicator of inflation pressures, rose to 69.3 from 66.7 in December.
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan had the day off
Korea’s Kospi Index poked 2.30 points, or 0.1%, higher to 2,072.03
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 5.02 points, or 0.2%, to 3,184.74
New Zealand’s NZX 50 added 9.72 points, or 0.3%, to 3,348.46
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 subsided 1.80 points to 4,752.10.
