Asian stocks mixed as Japan bounces back; Nikkei up 2.77%

Asian stocks were mixed Friday following Thursday’s tumble that came at the hands of some weak Chinese economic data. 

In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.77% to rebounded from Thursday’s 5.5% loss. Japanese stocks have been Asia’s best performers this year, but rising correlations between Japanese stocks and USD/JPY is seen as a potential risk by some traders, particularly if the yen suddenly gains strength. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.21% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.31% a day after the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 in May, below the 50 level that separates contraction from growth down from a final reading of 50.4 in April. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.8% amid weakness in banking and mining shares as Westpac Banking, Newcrest Mining and Rio Tinto all drifted lower. 

New Zealand’s NZSE 50 slipped 0.88% after Statistics New Zealand reported an April surplus of NZD157 million. April months have been in surplus since 2009, according to a statement. 

The value of imported goods rose NZD263 million (7.4%) to NZD3.8 billion in April 2013, compared with April 2012, Statistics New Zealand said. Exported goods rose 2.2% to NZD4 billion. 

After removing seasonal effects, exports decreased 8.6% in April 2013, compared with March 2013, according to the statement. 

South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.13%. Markets in Singapore were closed today, but the Straits Times Index plunged 1.77% Thursday following the regional sell-off that was made worse by the city-state’s slack first-quarter GDP report. 

S&P 500 futures rose 0.16% a day after the benchmark U.S. index lost 0.29%.