Asia markets wavered between positive and negative territory on Wednesday, ending mixed despite advances in oil prices and signs of pickup in China's services sector.
The Nikkei 225 lost yet again, 17.46 points, or 01%, this time, to 15,715.36, as the yen retreated from overnight lows to trade near the 110.42 level
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong recovered 29.67 points, or 0.2%, to 20,206.67
Major Japanese exporters ended mixed, with some taking cues from the slight rebound in the dollar/yen. Shares of Toyota were up 0.3%, Nissan added 1% and Honda was also up 1%. Shares of Sony ended down 1.1% and heavily weighted Fast Retailing lost 1.2%
Energy plays were mixed, with shares of Santos adding 3.9%, Woodside Petroleum higher by 2.8% and mainland shares of Sinopec adding 6.3%. Shares of Japan's Inpex, however, gave up gains to close down 0.7%
In Australia, shares of Westpac dropped 1.5%, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court in Melbourne against the bank.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index faded 6.96 points, or 0.2%, to 3,257.53.
Helping to bolster market sentiment, China's services sector strengthened in March, according to a survey of smaller and medium-sized enterprises released earlier in the day.
The Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) for March rose to 52.2, up from February's reading of 51.2. However, employment fell for the first time in over two and a half years.
Government data, which focuses on larger companies, last week showed China's official services PMI rose to 53.8 in March, from 52.7 in February.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The Chinese yuan was flat against the dollar at 6.4762; before the market opened, the People's Bank of China set the yuan midpoint fix at 6.4754. China's central bank lets the yuan spot rate rise or fall a maximum of 2% against the dollar, relative to the official fixing rate.
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index returned from a long weekend by tumbling 144.25 points, or 1.7%, to 8,513.30
In Korea, the Kospi index regained 8.58 points, or 0.4%, to 1,971.32
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 10.33 points, or 0.4%, to 2,811.25
New Zealand’s NZX 50 regained 18.46 points, or 0.3%, to 6,734.27
In Australia, the ASX 200 grew 21.53 points, or 0.4%, to 4,945.91
