Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note following a choppy trading session Wednesday as data on Chinese manufacturing activity led to expectations Beijing may not immediately ease its monetary policy.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index inched forward 7.28 points, or 0.1%, to 8,809.79
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index sifted off 57.12 points, or 0.3%, to 20,333.40
Markets in Asia usually closely track China’s manufacturing PMI -- considered to be a leading indicator of the economy there -- as China is a major trading partner with several countries in the region and is an outsized force behind global demand for commodities.
Other HSBC PMI surveys released during the day showed a continued contraction in manufacturing activity in South Korea and Taiwan, although the reading for India jumped to 57.5 in January, from 54.2 in December.
Data released by South Korea also showed the nation’s exports fell for the first time in two years in January, strengthening expectations by an interest rate cut by the Bank of Korea.
The mixed performance for Asian stocks followed a mostly lower close for U.S. stocks Tuesday, with some weak earnings reports and economic data from the region weighing on Wall Street sentiment.
In Hong Kong, some local property stocks declined after the special administrative region’s Financial Secretary John Tsang proposed in his annual budget address that the government increase the supply of land.
Shares of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. gave up 0.9%, and Sino Land Co. fell 3.6%.
In Tokyo, shares of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. dropped 1.8%, and Shinsei Bank Ltd. fell 2.3%, after each reported relatively weak financial results late Tuesday.
But gains in banking shares supported the broader Japanese market, with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. rising 3.4% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advancing 2.9%.
Australia also saw some earnings-related selling, with Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. slumping 13.6% after the uranium miner swung to a fiscal-year net loss. Aquarius Platinum Ltd. plunged 12.5% after reporting a 4% drop in quarterly production.
Fairfax Media Ltd. managed to buck the lower trend in Australia, jumping 10.1% after reports emerged late Tuesday that billionaire investor Gina Rinehart is seeking to buy another stake in the firm.
In Seoul, LG Electronics Inc. rose 1.9%, reversing early declines, after reporting a narrowing of its loss in 2011 from the year before.
CHINA
On Wednesday morning, a Chinese government-sponsored manufacturing survey put the January Purchasing Managers’ Index at 50.5 in January, up from 50.3 in December and beating expectations for a drop to 49.5.
However, a separate, private-sector survey by HSBC put the January PMI at 48.8, also up a little from December’s 48.7 reading, but below the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction.
The Shanghai CSI 300 faded 35.27 points, or 1.4%, to 2,428.99
Commodity- and property-related stocks were broadly lower in Shanghai, where Jiangxi Copper Co. dropped 3.8%, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. shed 3.4% and property major Gemdale Corp. lost 1.3%.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added 32.13 points, or 0.4%, to 7,549.21
Korea’s Kospi Index gained 3.45 points, or 0.2%, to 1,959.24
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 1.93 points, or 0.1%, to 2,904.76
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index regained 5.58 points, or 0.2%, to 3,301.79
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index subtracted 37.01 points, or 0.9%, to 4,225.67
