Japanese shares overcame early trading to finish the day marginally higher driven by a rebound in financial and real estate stocks. Core private-sector machinery orders in July surged 17% sequentially, according to the country's Cabinet Office.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rallied 112.70 points, or 0.71 percent, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to finish below the psychologically key 16,000-point level at 15,877.67 while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index retrenched 47.46 points, or 0.20 percent, to 23,952.24.
Japanese real estate stocks moving higher included Tokyu Land Corp. and Mitsui Fudosan. Financial stocks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group. also rebounded.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) reported its largest one-day percentage decline in over two months after plummeting 241.32 points, or 4.51 percent, to finish at 5,113.97. A surge in the country's consumer price index to a 10-year high of 6.5% in August drove the selling with speculation the Chinese central bank will need to increase interest rates.
ELSEWHERE:
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi rose 0.63% to 1,847.36.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Straits Times Index jumped 1.53% to 3,494.57.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index edged up 0.73% to 9,003.12.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 gained 0.42% to 4,160.16.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.63% to 6,248.60.
with files from other wire services
