ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong Stocks Rise After China Data Surprise To Upside

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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