Mainland Chinese stocks fell Wednesday after a gauge of the country’s manufacturing sector dropped to an 11-month low.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 47.23 points, or 0.3%, higher to 14,731.28
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 53.51 points, or 0.2%, to 21,968.93
Chinese property shares advanced in Hong Kong, with China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. rising 1.9% and China Resources Land Ltd. climbing 1.7%.
Among Apple suppliers, shares of Rohm Co. gained 5.5%, and Taiyo Yuden Co. rose 1.5% in Tokyo, LG Display Co. added 2.4% in Seoul, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. climbed 1.4% in Taipei.
KDDI Corp., which offers iPhone service plans to its customers in Japan, advanced 1.7% in Tokyo trade. Apple’s rival Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.6% in Seoul.
Analysts at Barclays sounded a cautious tone, however, saying the iPhone maker’s sales guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter was also weaker than market estimates.
Shares of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. lost 1% after the Nikkei newspaper reported many steel users were reluctant to an increase in prices that automobile giant Toyota Motor Corp. had already agreed to pay.
Shares of Toyota fell 0.8% on a separate Nikkei report the company and Ford Motor Co, have ditched plans to develop a hybrid system for light trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Meanwhile, official figures released earlier Wednesday showed Japan’s exports grew a weaker-than-expected 7.4% in June from the year-ago period.
Shares of Australian banks held their early gains after data showing consumer prices in the country rose a less-than-expected 0.4% in the second quarter from the preceding three months.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 0.7%, and Westpac Banking Corp. gained 0.9%.
CHINA
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 dipped 16.69 points, or 0.7%, to 2,249.15, as investors digested preliminary data released by HSBC, showing China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index slid to 47.7 in July from a final reading of 48.2 in June.
The benchmark came off its lows amid expectations that policy makers were likely to step in to support the economy, after a state-owned media report earlier this week cited Premier Li Keqiang as saying that Beijing wouldn’t tolerate an economic growth of less than 7%.
Shares of China Minsheng Banking Corp. slid 2%, Jiangxi Copper Co. dropped 1.4% and Poly Real Estate Group Co skidded 3.1% in Shanghai.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index tailed off 18.46 points, or 0.2%, to 8,214.65
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added a further 21 points, or 0.7%, to 3,274.76
Korea’s Kospi Index prospered 7.93 points, or 0.4%, to 1,912.08
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index tacked on 18.61 points, or 0.4%, to 4,599.20
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 hiked 17.96 points, or 0.4%, to 5,035.07
