Asia: Japanese and Australian stocks edge higher, China PMI remains stable

LONDON (ShareCast) - Markets in the Asian countries not observing Labour Day edged forward on Friday, as Japanese stocks reversed earlier losses. Stocks in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea were untraded as the markets were closed for Labour Day. China's manufacturing sector held steady in April, official data released on Friday showed.

According to China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics, the China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 50.1 in April, unchanged from March.

The sub-index gauging new orders was unchanged at 50.2 last month, while the production sub-index rose from 52.1 to 52.6.

"A stable PMI for China counts as good news after the recent run of poor data," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. "But the official PMI has not been a particularly reliable guide to trends in industry over the past few months, so we're not inclined to put much weight on today's number." Meanwhile, the preliminary HSBC China manufacturing PMI, which measures nationwide manufacturing activity, fell to a one-year low of 49.2 in April.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average reversed earlier losses and edged 0.06% higher, driven by solid earnings results, although the index ended the week down 2.4%, the sharpest fall since December.

On Thursday, the Bank of Japan maintained its current easing programme, but investors remained wary after disappointing economic data showed uncertainty over the pace of US recovery persisted.

In company news, bathroom products manufacturer Toto (Other OTC: TOTDY - news) jumped 7.94% after it said expected annual profit to raise 28%, while Japan Tobacco (Other OTC: JAPAF - news) rose 3.60% after reporting a first quarter profit that was broadly unchanged from the previous year.

Fujitsu plunged 17.93% after the IT giant said it expects net profit to fall 29% in the financial year to March 2016.

The yen fell 0.3% against the dollar to $0.0083.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.42%, boosted by a rise in mining stocks.

Iron-ore miners rose after Brazilian sector giant Vale SA said on Thursday that it could curb output due to a glut in supply. As a result, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) climbed 1.66%, while Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) advanced 1.99%.