China shares were little changed as investors digested the
latest read on Chinese manufacturing, which showed factory activity
at a six-month low.
Hang Seng China Enterprises, an index of Chinese firms trading
in Hong Kong, was up 0.3% while the broader Hang Seng Index was up
0.2%.
In the morning, HSBC's manufacturing PMI index came in at 50.0
in November, down from 50.4 in October. The preliminary reading
suggests that policy makers" recent targeted easing measures have
been of little help to economic growth, but investors took the data
in stride as China is widely expected to face economic headwinds
going into the last quarter.
Meanwhile, demand for Chinese equities from global investors
continued to be weak. Global investors took up just a fraction of
the daily quota allowance for buying Shanghai-listed firms through
a new trading program that began this week.
The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.1%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei Stock Average was flat while Australia's
S&P ASX 200 was down 0.4%.
In Japan, shares of Takata Corp. were down 1.6%, as pressure
mounts on the Japanese maker of air bags, whose products have been
linked to at least five deaths. The firm objected to a demand from
U.S. regulators to call back millions more vehicles, saying an
expanded action could slow delivery of parts to those regions with
high humidity and temperature, which it considers as high priority
because most incidents incurred there.
The U.S. dollar traded at Yen118.16, compared with Yen117.97
late Wednesday in New York. A higher dollar benefits Japanese
exporters who make dollar earnings abroad and pay costs in local
currency terms at home.
Mixed trading in the region comes after stocks in the U.S.
finished slightly lower.
Minutes from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting in October stopped
short of giving clear direction on the outlook for interest rates,
with the Fed saying that rates would stay near zero for a
"considerable time" after the end of its bond-purchase program.
Rising rates would attract money flows back to the U.S.,
potentially pressuring stocks in emerging markets, including in
Asia.
In Singapore, shares of Global Logistic Properties were down
0.4% after the firm reported the death of its co-founder and deputy
chairman of the company's board, Jeffrey Schwartz.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com
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