Asian Shares Mixed

A raft of data painting diverging pictures of Japan's economy capped gains for Japan stocks Friday, while in China, the yuan fell to its lowest level in months.

The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4% after factory output grew sharply on a weaker yen and rising exports. Japanese industrial production rose 4.0% in January, beating economists" forecasts for a 2.8% gain.

But that didn't translate into improving consumer sentiment, nine months after a broad sales-tax increase. Household spending fell 5.1% in January from a year earlier, worse than the 4.1% forecast. Retail sales fell 2.0%.

Shares of low-cost carrier Skymark Airlines Inc. plunged 19%. The Nikkei reported that ANA Holdings Inc.'s president said his airline won't take a majority stake in Skymark. Shares of ANA fell 0.1%.

In China, the yuan traded at 6.2688 against the U.S. dollar, after the central bank set the yuan at 6.1475 to the U.S. dollar, the weakest level in months. The onshore traded yuan can move no more than 2% above or below the rate set by the central bank.

Shares in Asia were mixed after U.S. stocks ended mostly lower Thursday, although the Nasdaq approached 5000 for the first time in 15 years. Stocks in Korea, Malaysia and Singapore slipped while, the Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 were up each by a fraction.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

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