ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Mixed, As Hong Kong Pulls Back From Gains

By Laura He and Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with Hong Kong shares retreating from a five-month high set in the previous session.

Japan's Nikkei Average rose 0.5%, bouncing back from a one-week closing low on Tuesday. The broader Topix index rose 0.8%, while the dollar dipped against the yen (USDJPY), buying Yen102.305 from Yen102.332 on Tuesday.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index managed to extended its Tuesday rally, rising 0.1% to its highest closing level since late April.

However, Hong Kong markets lost some of its gains after the Hang Seng Index scored its highest settlement since January in the previous session. The benchmark index ended 0.3% lower.

Sydney stocks also dropped, with the S&P/ASX 200 off 0.3%, while the Australian dollar (AUDUSD) moved higher to 93.99 U.S. cents from 93.73 U.S. cents on Wednesday.

Among market movers, Macau casino operator Sands China jumped 3.6% and rival MGM China Holdings climbed 3.4%. Chinese online major Tencent Holdings advanced 2.6%, while China's largest mobile carrier China Mobile lost 2.1%. Also, developer Poly Property Group declined 1.5%, and European banking giant HSBC Holdings fell 1%.

In Japan, top gainers included semiconductor company Renesas Electronics Corp. which gained 3.5%. Chip maker Toshiba Corp. rose 1.8%, and electronics conglomerate Hitachi added 1.7%.

World Bank worries about China as it cuts estimates

The World Bank on Wednesday downgraded its 2014 global growth forecast to 2.8% from its January estimate of 3.2%.

Much of the cut in the headline number was tied to the weather-related contraction in the U.S. earlier this year (it slashed its U.S. growth forecast to 2.8% from 2.1%) and fallout from the fighting in Ukraine, among other issues. ((Read more here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-bank-cuts-2014-global-growth-forecast-2014-06-10.))

On the surface, China escaped with relatively light punishment, as its 2014 economic growth was trimmed slightly to 7.6% from 7.7%, with the 2015 projection unchanged at 7.5%.

But the World Bank also warned that a hard landing for the Chinese economy represented a "major risk."

"A sharper-than-expected slowdown in China, triggered by disorderly unwinding of imbalances, would generate substantial headwinds in the region," the World Bank report said.

"In the process of rebalancing the Chinese economy, an unexpectedly sharp adjustment of property prices and disorderly deleveraging could lead to a significant fall in investment rates, an abrupt slowdown in output growth, and substantial spillovers within the East Asia region, especially on commodity exporters," it said.

You can read the entire World Bank "Global Economic Prospects" report here.

(Some material in this report is from MarketWatch's Asia Stocks blog.)

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