Asia: Disappointing data drives Chinese stocks down, but other stocks rise

Except China, the majority of Asian stocks were up on Friday, following hopes of more central bank stimulus and steadying oil prices.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.18%, helped by news that the Brent crude price was at $50.60 a barrel. The price dipped earlier in the week below $50 - a level not seen since May 2009.

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Friday that falling oil prices are positive for the country’s economy.

"The current oil prices are less than half their peak levels, and based on calculations the Cabinet Office, they give the Japanese economy a boost of some $7 trillion," he told reporters.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.35%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 1.6%, driven by a boot in investors' confidence in the back of steadying oil prices.

China’s Shanghai was in the down side dipping 0.24%, due to data released overnight showing factory gate deflation worsened last month.

The producer price index, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, fell 3.3% year-on-year, registering its 34th consecutive month of decline as the drop accelerated from a 2.7% fall in November.

Despite an improvement in Chinese consumer price inflation to 1.5% in December from a five-year low of 1.4% the previous month, it remains well below the government’s 3.5% target.

FXTM analyst Jameel Ahmad said: “Recent economic data from China has repeatedly pointed towards further signs of domestic momentum slowing and with inflation pressures easing, I see the potential for another interest rate cut to follow the one seen in November.”

“The major signs of an economic momentum slowdown have been inspired by domestic data, therefore another interest rate cut could reinvigorate this side of the economy.”