Asia report: Most markets lower, China surges on Caixin PMI

Most markets in Asia finished lower on Thursday after a red session on Wall Street, although China bucked the regional trend after positive manufacturing data.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.56% at 21,724.47, as the yen weakened 0.08% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 106.77.

The Tokyo benchmark was led lower by carmakers, financial plays and technology stocks, with Fast Retailing down 1.15%, SoftBank Group falling 1.1% and Toyota off 2.09%.

Manufacturers were also lower, with Fanuc slipping 1.14% and Kyocera sliding 2.05%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished ahead 0.44% at 3,273.76, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite added 1.23%.

The unofficial Caixin manufacturing PMI came in at 51.6 for February, higher than the 51.3 forecast.

It boosted sentiment after the official PMI disappointed on Wednesday, although market watchers had noted that the lengthy Lunar New Year holiday would have impacted manufacturing activity during the month.

South Korea’s Kospi was closed for a holiday, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.65% to settle at 31.044.25.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 1.09% at $64.03 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate falling 0.83% to $61.13.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.71% to 5,973.30, led lower by the energy subindex, which was down 2.17%.

Oil producers were down in Sydney off the weaker oil price, as Oil Search lost 4.5%.

Major miners were also down, with Rio Tinto leading losers at 4.08% below the waterline.

The region’s big four banks were all slightly weaker, led by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, which was off 0.86%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was down 0.4% at 8,342.71, led lower by subscription broadcaster Sky, which extended losses by 2.8%.

The company - no relation to its London-listed namesake - was down almost 10% on Wednesday after it announced plans to slash the price of its basic service and cut its dividend in half, amid fierce competition from local and global internet streaming players.

It was a mixed day for the down under dollars, with the Aussie last 0.46% weaker against the greenback at AUD 1.2943, while the Kiwi strengthened 0.04% to NZD 1.3863.