Asian stock markets traded mixed on the first trading day of the second quarter following a mixed bag of economic data releases.
China's official March manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) unexpectedly edged up to 50.1 in March from February's 49.9, a tad above the 50-mark that that separates growth from contraction. The reading is better than the March HSBC final PMI, also released Wednesday, which showed the nation's vast manufacturing sector in contraction. The 49.6 final print, however, is stronger than the preliminary figure of 49.2.
Wednesday also sees a weaker-than-expected reading of sentiment among Japanese corporates. The headline big manufacturers index remained unchanged from the previous quarter at +12, below expectations for a reading of +14 in a Reuters poll, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed.
Wall Street set the cautious mood by closing lower overnight, as investors eyed mixed economic data and the end of the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.1 percent and was the only index to decline during the January-March period. The S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.9 percent each in the previous session, but managed to post gains of 3.48 and 0.44 percent last quarter.
Nikkei falls 0.5 percent
Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered from an earlier three-week low, but the yen remained on a downtrend, losing more grounds against the greenback at 119.59.
Exporters were lower across the board; carmakers like Toyota Motor and Nissan sagged 1.9 and 2.3 percent each, while other blue-chips like Canon and Mitsubishi Electric eased 1.5 and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Financials like Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo MitsuiFinancial Group were also more than 1 percent weaker.
Shanghai Comp adds 0.1 percent
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index posted a tepid open following the release of two PMI data, which showed a mixed picture in the country's manufacturing sector.
Beijing unveiled further tax breaks and relaxed lending rules late Monday in a bid to shore up its wobbly property sector. The new policy changes follow three monetary stimulus injections by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) since November 2014. On the back of fresh easing, the benchmark index rallied to a new seven-year high in the previous session before closing down due to profit-taking.
ASX drops 0.5 percent
Australia's S&P ASX 200 index declined as a majority of stocks surrendered Tuesday's gains.
Iron miners were stung after the steel-making raw material languished at fresh six-year lows of USD 51 a tonne overnight. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals dropped more than 2 percent, respectively, while junior players like BC Iron and Atlas Iron plunged 5.4 and 3.9 percent each.
Bucking the downtrend, Macquarie Group and Telstra elevated 0.7 and 0.5 percent, respectively, providing some relief to the bourse.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar last traded at USD 0.7644 against the US dollar, moving further away from a six-year low of USD 0.7558 touched on March 11, on the back of a rise in factory activity in the mainland.
Kospi loses 0.5 percent
South Korea's Kospi index retreated further, with its heavyweights trading in negative territory. Hyundai Motor and steelmaker Posco notched down over 2 percent each, while Samsung Electronics and utility Kepco shed 0.8 and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Weaker-than-expected domestic data also damped sentiment in early trade. The country's manufacturing activity and new export orders contracted in March, according to the HSBC/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI), indicating further signs of a struggling recovery in South Korea. Meanwhile, house prices rose by 0.4 percent in the same month, faster than a 0.23 percent gain in February, data from the country's top mortgage lender Kookmin Bank showed.
