Asian Markets Mostly Lower

Asian markets were mostly lower in a range-bound session Friday even as China released data showing consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in April.

The Nikkei was up 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite declined 0.6% while the Hang Seng slipped 0.1% The Sensex was up 1.2% while the All Ordinaries slipped 0.3%.

China's April CPI rose 1.8% over the last year, less than expectations calling for a 2% increase. Producer price inflation fell 2%, slightly more than expectations of 1.9%.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s central bank left its policy rate at 2.5% as expected.

Stocks on the Move

Toyota reversed intra-day losses of about 2% and was up 0.7% at the time of writing. Reporting after the market close yesterday, the automaker posted a record-breaking profit but forecast flat revenue and a small drop in profit for the current year.

Toshiba gained 1.5% after forecasting record-breaking operating profit this year, although the guidance was lower than expectations.

Also after results, Rakuten fell 6.5% after reporting a weak quarterly performance while Takeda Pharmaceutical was down 2.1%.

Shares of electronics retailer K's Holdings Corp. picked up 3.2% after the company provided an upbeat forecast.

Canon was up 2.3% after announcing a share buyback.

In Hong Kong, AgBank was up 0.6% after it said it plans to raise up to 80 billion yuan in preferred stock.

Great Wall Motor plunged 15.7% as the markets expressed their disappointment over the further delay of its long-awaited H8 sports utility vehicle.

Casino shares rebounded from their falls the previous session. Wynn Macau gained 5.6% while Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China also rose over 5% each. Melco Crown was up 3% after reporting unaudited results.

Hindalco was the top gainer on the Sensex, up 2.9%, followed by HDFC, up 2.4%. Tata Power, ICICI Bank, and L&T all gained 2.1% each. HDFC Bank was up 2%.

In Sydney, Envestra zoomed about 18% after it received a competing bid from Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Group. Envestra’s other suitor is APA Group. APA shares were up 1.1%.

News Corp. was up 2.7% following its results released yesterday.

Lender ANZ pared intra-day losses of as much as 2.8%. Shares were down 0.4% at the time of writing as it traded without rights to the latest dividend.