Asian stocks fell, after a gauge of China’s manufacturing unexpectedly contracted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index let go of 125 points, or 0.8%, to 15,695.89.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 348.35 points, or 1.5%, to 22,733.90.
China Construction Bank slid 3% in Hong Kong, pacing losses among Chinese lenders. Hang Lung Properties, the Hong Kong developer investing more than $8.5 billion U.S. building malls in mainland China, declined 5.1% after posting a drop in underlying profit.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. slipped 3.4% to HK$4.81 as investors in a troubled trust product distributed by the bank met the lender’s officials at a private-banking branch in Shanghai, demanding their money amid concerns of a default.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd. lost 3% after the nation’s largest car and home insurer lowered its growth forecast for gross premiums.
Among stocks that advanced, Nidec Corp. jumped 5.6% to 11,715 yen in Tokyo after after the precision-motor manufacturer boosted its full-year profit forecast and announced a share buyback.
CHINA
The preliminary reading of 49.6 for a Purchasing Managers’ Index released today by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with a final figure of 50.5 in December and a 50.3 median estimate of 19 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. A number below 50 indicates contraction.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index subtracted 11.91 points, or 0.5%, to 2,231.89
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi index dropped 22.83 points, or 1.2%, to 1,947.59
Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell 30.20 points, or 0.4%, to 8,595.10
The Singapore Straits Times Index docked 33.50 points, or 1.1%, to 3,100.24
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 39.26 points, or 0.8%, to 4,911.08
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 56.78 points, or 1.1%, to 5,262.99
