Asia markets mixed as investors assess a slew of economic data; Hong Kong gains over 2%

Hong Kong stocks led gains in Asia-Pacific markets on Tuesday as Xiaomi shares surged, while investors assessed economic data from South Korea and Australia. The Hang Seng index gained 2.18% as traders returned from a long weekend, with shares of Xiaomi jumping as much as 16% after the consumer electronics company began taking orders on Thursday for its newly launched electric vehicle. South Korea’s March inflation rate held steady at 3.1%, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. Australia’s factory activity contracted at its fastest pace since May 2020, with its purchasing managers’ index sliding to 47.3 in March from 47.8 in February. A private survey showed India’s manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in 16 years. China’s CSI 300 index fell 0.42% to end at 3,580.68, snapping a three-day winning streak. South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.19% higher at 2,753.16, but the Kosdaq slid 2.29% to 891.59 after the inflation reading. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed slipped 0.14% to 7,886, retreating from fresh all-time highs. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded to close 0.09% higher at 39,838.91, while the broad-based Topix ended 0.25% down at 2,714.45. Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes ended mixed as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed 13 basis points to 4.319% The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the S&P 500 dipped 0.2% The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.11%.