Asia: Shares end broadly unchanged but ASX 200 enjoys healthy gains

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 0.1% on Friday, extending its winning streak to an eleventh day amid a raft of economic data, although the weakening of the dollar against the yen capped gains.

Data released on Friday showed that Japan’s national consumer price index rose 0.6% on an annual basis in April, in line with expectations but much weaker than the 2.3% increase in March.

Meanwhile, Japan’s jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 3.3% in April – an 18-year low and better than expectations for it to remain unchanged. Elsewhere, figures showed that household spending eased 1.3% on an annual basis in April compared with expectations for a 3% rise.

In individual stocks, Nabtesco rose 4.1% after the company said it will buy back 3.4% of its outstanding shares.

Shares in Kyushu Electric were under pressure after a volcanic eruption in southern Japan sparked concerns that the company’s plan to re-start a nuclear power plant may be disrupted.

The Shanghai Composite saw volatile trading, with heavy losses at the open, following on from the huge drop seen on Thursday, when investors sold stocks on news that more Chinese brokerages are tightening margin trading requirements and as the central bank drained money to reduce flush liquidity in the financial system.

However, the index managed to claw back some of the losses and end down just 0.2%.

Hong Kong shares, meanwhile, nudged lower, with the Hang Seng closing off 0.1% following a 2.2% drop on Thursday.

In currency markets, the dollar fell back against the yen, having hit its highest level since 2002, as Japanese government officials used stronger language to describe recent moves, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying that the weakening of the yen in recent days had been “rough” and that would monitor moves in the foreign exchange markets carefully.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.1%, recovering from two days of falls, with banks and miners pacing the advance.