Asia stocks uneven as China data, Japan policy weighed

Chinese stocks fell yesterday after a weak manufacturing report while Japan extended gains following its central bank’s introduction of a negative interest rate policy to boost lending by banks. Other markets were mixed.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.8 percent to 17,833.53 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,918.22. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent to 19,557.75 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China lost 1.7 percent to 2,689.89. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent to 5,047.40. Stocks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia were lower.
CHINA MANUFACTURING: An index based on a survey of factory purchasing managers fell to 49.4 in January, its lowest in more than three years, in the latest sign of weakness for the world’s No. 2 economy. January’s reading was down from December’s 49.7 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate contraction. Separately, the private Caixin/Markit purchasing managers’ index showed improvement but was weak overall.
THE QUOTE: Investors will expect more stimulus from Beijing as the latest data showed that China’s manufacturing is “in a state of further deterioration,” said Mizuho Bank in a daily commentary. “Markets could be betting on more coordinated and forceful stimulus from Beijing too now that there is a certain policy stimulus momentum established.”
CENTRAL BANKS: Analysts said after Japan’s central bank introduced a negative interest rate policy on Friday, central banks in other countries may add to stimulus or be more cautious about tightening policy. “The Bank of Japan’s move sets a more dovish tone for major central banks around the world,” said Ric Spooner, chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “At the margin, it will increase the incentive for the ECB to add stimulus as it seeks to keep its currency relatively weak. Similarly the Fed and the Bank England will be a little more cautious about lifting rates.”
WALL STREET: U.S. stock markets posted their biggest gains in about five months on Friday though ended January with losses. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 2.5 percent to 16,466.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 2.5 percent to 1,940.24. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 2.4 percent to 4,613.95.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. oil was down 70 cents to USD32.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It finished Friday at $33.62 a barrel, up 40 cents, or 1.2 percent. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 73 cents to $35.26 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 121.20 yen from 121.12 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.0853 from $1.0831. AP