Asia stocks mixed as China liquidity fears persist; Nikkei down 1%

Asian stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, with most shares in the region turning lower as concerns over tight liquidity conditions in China persisted despite reassurance from the country’s central bank.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 1.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index ended 1.6% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended down 1%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng moved further away from a nine-month low hit earlier in the week after the People’s Bank of China said on Tuesday that it will guide interest rates to a “reasonable range”.

The PBOC also said that interbank liquidity overall is abundant and risk is largely under control.

The central bank added that it will continue to closely monitor liquidity changes and will make an effort to stabilize market expectations.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Minsheng Bank rallied 6%, China Merchants Bank rose 4.5%, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China added 4.6%.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 Index bounced off the previous session’s six-month low as global miners rebounded after a series of upbeat U.S. data releases on Tuesday reinforced the view that the economic recovery is on track.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton saw shares jump 3.3% and 2.6% respectively, while Fortescue Metals Group rose 2.4%.

The big four banks were mostly higher, with National Australia Bank adding 1.9%, while ANZ Banking Group and Westpac Banking Group rose 1.7% and 2%. Commonwealth Banking Group tacked 1.8%.

Elsewhere, in Tokyo, the Nikkei turned lower in volatile trade as investors continued to eye movements in the yen and in the Japanese government bond market.

Some exporters saw their gains evaporate in afternoon trade, with Mazda down 1.1%, while Sharp lost 3.5%.

Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a flat open.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.1% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures were little changed, London’s FTSE 100 futures indicated a loss of 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a flat open.

Finance ministers from the European Union were to hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday, while the U.S. was to release revised data on first quarter economic growth.