By Laura He, MarketWatch
Japan stocks break a five-day winning streak
Hong Kong stocks inched into the black Wednesday, rebounding
from the previous losses, as a preliminary reading of China's
manufacturing activity surprised to the upside and printed at a
four-month high.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%, with the Hang Seng China
Enterprises , which tracks Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese
companies, edging 0.2% higher.
HSBC's "flash" China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index
rose to 50.1 in February
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-manufacturing-halts-contraction-hsbc-flash-pmi-shows-2015-02-24),
back above the 50-level separating expansion from contraction,
compared with a final read of 49.7 in the previous month, data
showed Wednesday.
In Hong Kong, market movers included Sino-British banking giant
HSBC Holdings PLC , recovering 0.9% after a 3.5% slide in the
previous session.
Among other major index components, China Resources Land Ltd.
climbed 2.2%, China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. advanced
2%, and both Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. and Tencent Holdings
Ltd. gained 0.5%.
Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.6%
on its first day of trade after a week-long Lunar New Year
holiday.
In Japan, the Nikkei Average also closed in negative territory,
down 0.1%, snapping a five-day winning streak. The broader Topix
was off by less than 0.1%.
Meanwhile, the yen (USDJPY) was a little stronger versus the
greenback
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-pulls-back-versus-yen-after-yellen-testimony-2015-02-25),
trading at Yen118.83 from Yen118.89 late Tuesday in New York.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi Compoiste Index finished 0.7%
higher, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tacked on 0.3%.
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