MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Wednesday, with confidence over signs of renewed expansion of China's services sector tempered by a fall in services employment in the world's second-biggest economy.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.1 percent down at 15,715.36. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.1 percent at 20,191.02. Australia's S&P ASX 200 was 0.4 percent higher at 4,945.90. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 percent to 3,044.51. South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.4 percent to 1,971.32. Taiwan's benchmark TAIEX index fell 1.7 percent to 8,513.30. Southeast Asian Markets were mixed.
ANALYST VIEWPOINT: "Asian markets were lifted after China's Caixin services PMI followed Friday's manufacturing PMI higher," said Angus Nicholson, IG market analyst, referring to a private survey that showed signs of renewed expansion of Chinese business activity in March following a slight fall in February.
CHINA SERVICES: The Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) for March rose to 52.2 from February's 51.2. But despite the slight boost to business activity, services companies took a cautious approach to staff numbers, highlighted in March by the first fall in services sector employment since August 2013, said Caixin, a media group providing financial and business news.
WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell for a second day on Tuesday, as the head of the International Monetary Fund sounded downbeat on the outlook for the world economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 133.68 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,603.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 20.96 points, or 1 percent, to 2,045.17 and the Nasdaq composite fell 47.86 points, or 1 percent, to 4,843.93.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 92 cents at $36.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose 54 cents to $38.41 per barrel.
CURRENCIES: The U.S. dollar inched up against the yen to 110.38 from 110.31 yen in the previous trading day. The euro fell to $1.4131 from $1.4163.