Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Thursday. The Japanese stock market is notably lower following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street amid worries about interest rates and as the dollar weakened against the yen. Investors also digested Japanese manufacturing PMI data that showed the manufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in February. The manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in February, albeit at a slightly slower rate, with a manufacturing PMI score of 54.1. That's down from 54.8 in January, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. However, China stocks surged as consumer and banking firms rose, after a private survey showed the country’s factory growth rose to a 6-month high in February. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia are higher. Bucking the trend, Taiwan and Singapore are in negative territory. The markets in South Korea are closed for Independence Movement Day.
Hang Seng added 72.44 points or 0.23% to 30,917.16, Jakarta Composite rose 24.6 points or 0.37% to 6,621.82, Shanghai Composite gained 19.67 points or 0.6% to 3,279.08, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 3.22 points or 0.17% to 1,859.42.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 declined 307.84 points or 1.39% to 21,760.40, Taiwan Weighted decreased 31.82 points or 0.29% to 10,783.65, and Straits Times was down by 12.92 points or 0.37% to 3,505.02.
