Asian stocks mixed after soft US data

HONG KONG—(UPDATE) Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday as a late bout of bargain buying helped to offset disappointing US data on jobs and service sector activity that raised concerns over the US economy.

Hong Kong ended 0.29 percent, or 53.63 points, off at 23,261.61 while Sydney added 0.29 percent, or 13.6 points, to close at 4,753.7.

Shanghai gained 0.22 percent, or 6.39 points, to end the day at 2,872.40.

Tokyo and Seoul were closed for public holidays.

Regional enthusiasm suffered from a US tumble on the uninspiring data and weaker commodity prices, including a sharp silver sell-off.

“It could well be that after the strong commodities rally that we have seen, market participants are starting to question whether these levels are justified,” said Khoon Goh, a senior economist at ANZ Bank in Wellington, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Spot silver has dropped around 19 percent this week after a meteoric rise as investors sought an alternative to gold.

It was trading at $38.93 a troy ounce Thursday, down 46 cents from Wednesday’s New York close. Gold continued its downward trajectory, closing in Hong Kong at $1,516 -$1,517 an ounce, down from Wednesday’s close of $1,536-$1,537.

Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 bounced back in the afternoon after tumbling to a six-week low, with dealers seeking out cheap stocks, while Shanghai also rebounded after heavy losses the day before.

US shares on Wednesday reacted badly to data on job creation and the important services sector.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 83.93 points (0.66 percent) to end at 12,723.58.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 9.30 points (0.69 percent) to 1,347.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slid 13.39 points (0.47 percent) to 2,828.23.

Payroll firm ADP reported before the market opened that private companies added 179,000 jobs, slowing from 207,000 net new jobs in March.

Traders were also eyeing a report from the Institute for Supply Management, which said its services sector index showed slower growth in April. The sector accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity.

The dollar weakened against the euro in Asian trade Thursday as investors digested the data, which appeared to point to a continuance of the Fed’s low interest rate policy.

The euro bought $1.4875 in early European trade compared with $1.4827 in New York on Wednesday. The euro traded at 119.36 yen from 119.79 a day ago, and the greenback changed hands at 80.21 yen from 80.58.

The dollar had hit a 17-month low of $1.4940 against the euro in intraday trade Wednesday before recovering.

However, the greenback was picking up against the commodities-based “Aussie” and was sitting at US$1.0694 after hitting a record low of US$1.10.

Oil continued its retreat after US data showed a bigger-than-expected rise in crude stocks, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, shed 35 cents to $108.89 a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June delivery dipped nine cents to $121.10 in the afternoon.

In other markets:

— Singapore closed 0.13 percent, or 3.91 points, lower at 3,109.85.

Keppel Corp lost 0.87 percent to Sg$11.38 and Sembcorp Industries rose 0.19 percent to Sg$5.23.

— Taipei rose 0.80 percent, or 71.26 points, to 9,018.61.

Hon Hai rose 1.89 percent to Tw$108.0 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was up 1.36 percent to Tw$74.8.

— Manila fell 1.15 percent, or 49.53 points, to 4,248.68.

The market was also weighed by data showing inflation rose to 4.5 percent in April, above market expectations and raising fears of higher interest rates.

San Miguel Corp. fell 28.4 percent to 109.50 pesos as it resumed trading after a three-week suspension to make way for its $900 million sale of shares and convertible bonds.

But Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. bucked the trend, rising 4.35 percent to 72 centavos.

— Wellington closed up 0.11 percent, or 3.80 points, at 3,498.99.

Air New Zealand rose 0.9 percent to NZ$1.12, Telecom gained 0.9 percent to NZ$2.18 and Fletcher Building slipped 1.1 percent to NZ$9.01.

— Kuala Lumpur fell 0.47 percent, or 7.25 points, to 1,521.18.

Malaysian Airline dropped 2.2 percent to 1.78 ringgit, Genting Malaysia was 1.9 percent off at MYR3.63 and Petronas Chemicals dropped 1.4 percent to 7.08.

Among gainers Hong Leong Bank added 1.0 percent to 10.40.

— Jakarta ended flat, edging up 1.35 points to 3,816.27.

— Mumbai closed 1.40 percent, or 258.78 points, lower at 18,210.58.

The market has fallen for nine straight sessions.

Reliance Communications fell 5.52 percent to 89.05 while Sterlite Industries, the Indian arm of global resources Vedanta group ended down 3.27 percent to 170.1.

Mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel fell 3.25 percent to 357.6 after it reported a worse-than-expected 31-percent dive in quarterly net profit.

Drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories fell 6.03 percent to 426.4.