Asia: Mixed market in China, Nikkei declines

Chinese stocks ended the week on a mixed note, with Shanghai’s benchmark clinching a third straight week of gains.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.24% and finished the week 2% higher, the third week in a row that China’s benchmark index has risen.

Despite declining 0.04% on Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the week 0.5% higher, on the back of a 2.3% gain last week.

In company news, oil and gas giant PetroChina declined 0.12% in Hong Kong and 2.4% in Shanghai, after the company attributed a 17% decline in net profit in 2014 to “the fall in crude prices.”

Major mainland Chinese bank Industrial & Commercial Bank of China declined 1.3% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai after the lender said its profit for 2014 rose 5%, less than analysts had estimated.

Japan’s Nikkei Average lost 0.95% and fell 1.4% for the week, bringing a six-week gaining streak to an end, while the Topix fell 1.02%.

Headline consumer price index rose 2.2% year-on-year in February, slightly below consensus expectations of a 2.3% reading, while core CPI also fell slightly short of expectation at 2%, marking the seventh straight month of decline.

Meanwhile, Japan’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5% but analysts said wages remained a problem.

“Wages remain the main issue for Japan and despite this low unemployment rate, with cash wages rising, but still not yet on a sustained basis,” said Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro.

The yen declined 0.17% against the dollar and lost 0.38% against the pound but it gained 0.32% against the euro.

Australia’s Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.69%, while Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index fell 0.14%.