Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday, with Japanese and Taiwanese stocks rising on relief over milder-than-feared inflation data from China, while Hong Kong shares retreated amid worries that price pressures on the mainland will remain at elevated levels.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo tacked on 21.13 points, or 0.2%, to 10,746.70
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index erased 221.28 points, or 1%, to 22,899.80
In Hong Kong, energy sector shares declined after crude-oil prices ended below $85 U.S. a barrel in New York overnight, with PetroChina Co. falling 1% and Cnooc losing 1.2%.
Property developers came under renewed selling pressure amid worries fighting inflation will remain a top priority for Chinese policy makers despite Tuesday’s data. Shares of China Overseas Land & Investment gave up 1.9%, while Shimao Property Holdings fell 1.6%.
In Tokyo, relief over the softer-than-expected China CPI underpinned the market, but investors were reluctant to commit themselves after Monday’s solid gains. Investors also largely shrugged off the widely predicted outcome of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting.
The BOJ’s policy board voted unanimously to maintain the policy interest-rate target in a 0.0%-0.1% range, and took no unconventional easing measures. As expected, the central bank raised its assessment of the broader economy for the first time in nine months
GS Yuasa Corp. advanced 5.4% after the battery maker on Monday raised its full-year earnings outlook.
Softbank Corp rose 3.4% after The Wall Street Journal reported Apple is working on the first of a new line of less-expensive iPhones. Softbank is Japan’s only carrier for Apple products.
But some exporters declined after posting strong gains the previous session. Olympus Corp. fell 3.6% and Sony Corp. slipped 0.4%.
Yamaha Motor tumbled 10.6% after the motorcycle maker said it expects a 9.3% rise in net profit to ¥20 billion ($240 million U.S.) and a 3.3% rise in operating profit to ¥53 billion for the fiscal year through December, both of which undershot the Nikkei Quick consensus at ¥35 billion and ¥66 billion, respectively.
Stocks in Sydney gave up some of the gains registered in the previous session, when the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% for its strongest one-day advance in the past four weeks.
Westpac Banking Corp. dropped 0.5% after its first-quarter cash earnings dropped 3% from the year-earlier period. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group gave up 0.7% and National Australia Bank shed 0.5%.
Logistics company Brambles fell 0.6% after its first-half profit missed analysts’ expectations.
In Seoul, LG Electronics sidestepped modest market losses amid foreign selling to rise 2.1%, after it rolled out a series of new mobile devices.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro was little changed after dropping to a three-week low of $1.3428 against the U.S. dollar on Monday. It was recently buying $1.3487, from $1.3488 U.S. late in New York on Monday. The currency was also fetching ¥112.69 from ¥112.39. The dollar, meanwhile, rose to ¥83.54 from ¥83.34.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index eased 1.47 points to 3,217.67, after data showed China’s consumer price index rose 4.9% in January from a year earlier, above December’s 4.6% rise, but much lower than the 5.4% increase forecast by economists.
Metal plays posted solid gains on mainland bourses, supported by Monday’s strength in global metal prices. Jiangxi Copper climbed 3.2% and Aluminum Corp. of China added 4.3%.
But financial stocks ended broadly lower as investors locked in recent gains, with Agricultural Bank of China sliding 0.8% and China Life Insurance Co. dropping 0.9%.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added 36.46 points, or 0.4%, to 8,721.93
Korea’s Kospi Index subsided 4.07 points, or 0.2%, to 2,010.52
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gave back 23.76 points, or 0.8%, to 3,080.66
New Zealand’s NZX 50 gained 6.62 points, or 0.2%, to 3,390.09
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 deducted 4.80 points, or 0.1%, to 4,931
