Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday as Chinese inflation data for May came in largely in line with expectations. Investors also looked ahead to the release of U.S. inflation data later stateside.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dumped 422.24 points, or 1.5%, to 27,824.28, as shares of SoftBank Group dropped 2%
The Japanese yen traded at 133.70 per U.S. dollar, struggling to recover after weakening from levels below 132 against the greenback earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 62.87 points, or 0.3%, to 21,806.18.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba turned around, closing 1.4% higher after falling nearly 4% earlier.
That was in contrast to U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba, which dropped 8.1% on Thursday after Jack Ma’s Ant Group and Chinese regulators squashed talk of reviving Ant’s public listing.
The Australian dollar was at $0.713 following a recent drop from above $0.714.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 63.32 points or 1.5%, to 4,238.99.
Chinese producer inflation in May rose in line with expectations, official data showed Friday.
The Chinese producer price index for May jumped 6.4% as compared with a year earlier, according to data by the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That matched expectations in a Reuters poll.
Meanwhile, Chinese consumer inflation in May also saw an increase that was close to expectations. The consumer price index climbed 2.1% from a year ago, just below the forecast in a Reuters poll for a 2.2% increase.
The rise in Chinese stocks came despite authorities re-mposing some restrictions in the major cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 27.89 points, or 0.9%, to 3,181.73.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index plunged 161.22 points, or 1%, to 16,460.12.
In Korea, the Kospi docked 29.57 points, or 1.1%, to 2,595.87.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 swooned 75.03 points, or 0.7%, to 11,136.28
In Australia, the ASX 200 retreated 87.77 points, or 1.3%, to 6,931.98.
