Asian markets mixed after US, China data

HONG KONG—Asian markets were mixed on Monday, as weak data from China and the United States fueling hopes for new stimulus measures were overshadowed by concerns over growth in the world’s two biggest economies.

The euro, which surged on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a bond-buying plan to help under-pressure nations, eased slightly in early Asian exchanges.

Tokyo ended flat, dipping 2.28 points to 8,869.37, with a slightly stronger yen compounding figures showing the Japanese economy grew at a slower pace than initially thought.

Seoul was 0.25 percent down, or 4.88 points, at 1,924.70 while Sydney climbed 0.18 percent, or 8.0 points, to 4,333.8.

Hong Kong finished 0.13 percent higher, adding 25.01 points to 19,827.17 while Shanghai gained 0.34 percent, or 7.13 points, to 2,134.89.

Regional markets saw big gains Friday following the ECB announcement to buy sovereign bonds in a bid to lower borrowing costs for countries such as Spain and Italy, which are struggling under huge debts.

However, later on Friday the US Labor Department said just 96,000 jobs were added last month, convincing many that the Fed would act in its policy meeting this week to introduce another round of bond purchases, or quantitative easing.

“A lot of the buying activity we are seeing is based on the premise that we will see easing from the US this week,” said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets in Sydney.

“Traders now think that it is not an issue of if we will see easing, but the scope of any plan,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The prospect of easing measures sent the dollar lower against other currencies, although the unit bounced back on Monday.

The greenback bought 78.30 yen in early European trade, from 78.21 in New York late Friday, while the euro was at $1.2782 and 100.10 yen, against $1.2811 and 100.21 yen.

On Wall Street the Dow closed up 0.11 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.40 percent and the Nasdaq edged up 0.02 percent.

Expectations for new measures to boost growth in China were stoked after figures at the weekend showed industrial output growth weakened to 8.9 percent year on year in August, its slowest pace since May 2009.

With the economy expanding 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 — the worst performance in three years and the sixth straight quarter of easing — economists say the government will likely act soon, possibly cutting interest rates.

But China released more data Monday showing imports unexpectedly fell in August, with softened demand at home hitting sentiment.

“The imports figure shows that domestic demand is in a sluggish state, but exports came in within expectations and that has mitigated the situation,” said Zhang Yanbin, an analyst at Zheshang Securities in China.

On oil markets New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, shed 21 cents to $96.22 a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for October rose 15 cents to $114.40.

Gold was at $1,732.83 at 1040 GMT compared with $1,694.85 on Friday.

In other markets:

— Singapore closed 0.10 percent, or 2.98 points, lower at 3,008.72.

Singapore Airlines rose 0.38 percent to Sg$10.55 and DBS Group Holdings advanced 0.76 percent to Sg$14.54, while Fraser and Neave gained 1.58 percent to Sg$8.38 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. advanced 1.96 percent to Sg$9.35.

— Taipei closed 0.78 percent, or 57.83 points, higher at 7,482.74.

Taiwan Cement gained 4.0 percent to Tw$35.10 while Formosa Plastics was 1.47 percent higher at Tw$82.7.

— Manila closed 0.20 percent lower, slipping 10.51 points to 5,190.81.

Gold-producer Philex Mining fell 8.14 percent to 15.80 pesos while Alliance Global Group gained 1.12 percent to 12.64 pesos.

— Wellington rose 0.13 percent, or 4.72 points, to 3,726.90.

— Jakarta climbed 0.41 percent, or 16.98 points, to 4,160.66.

Car maker Astra International rose 4.2 percent to 7,400 rupiah, consumer goods producer Unilever jumped 1.3 percent to 28,350 rupiah and mining company Aneka Tambang increased 2.4 percent to 1,280 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur fell 0.22 percent, or 3.51 points, to 1,621.04.

UEM Land Holdings lost 3.4 percent to 1.73 ringgit and Genting Malaysia gained 1.7 percent to close at 3.55 ringgit.

— Bangkok rose 0.39 percent, or 4.83 points, to 1,250.93.

Medical services firm BGH dropped 2.30 percent to 106 baht, while PTT lost 0.30 percent to 329 baht.

— Mumbai edged up 0.10 percent, or 17.13 points, to 17,766.78.

Leading mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel rose 2.32 percent to 260.45 rupees while steel giant Tata Steel rose 1.63 percent to 379.9 rupees.