CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday after data showed factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in April but at a much slower pace, rekindling investor concerns over slowing global growth.
The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing unexpectedly fell to 50.1 in April from 50.5 in March, while the Caixin-Markit China PMI slipped to 50.2 against the 50.8 reading in the previous month. Growth in China's services sector also slowed in the month, an official survey showed.
Investors also awaited a raft of economic data from the euro zone, the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starting later in the day and the latest developments on the trade front for directional cues.
Chinese markets recovered from an early slide to close higher before trade negotiations between the U. S. and China later in the day.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 15.84 points or 0.52 percent to 3,078.34 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 0.65 percent at 29,699.11.
The Japanese markets were closed for the Golden Week holidays.
Australian markets ended lower as weak Chinese data pulled down mining and energy stocks. Political uncertainty also kept investors nervous ahead of the May 18 election.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 34 points or 0.53 percent to 6,325.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 31.20 points or 0.48 percent at 6,418.40.
Energy stocks fell for a fifth straight session, with Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Oil Search and Origin Energy losing 1-3 percent. A dip in copper prices pulled down miners, with BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group all ending down over 1 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest lost 2.4 percent after it posted a 5 percent fall in its third quarter gold production. Telecommunications company Vocus Group declined 1.5 percent after announcing it would fight a class action over share price rout.
Bubs Australia rallied 3.9 percent after it reported revenue for the third quarter that more than doubled from last year.
Seoul stocks fell after Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, reported a slump in first-quarter net profits, hit by multiple factors.
Upbeat industrial output data helped to limit the downside to some extent. A government report showed that industrial output in South Korea climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent month-on-month in March, - rebounding from the 3.4 percent contraction in February.
The benchmark Kospi dropped 12.84 points or 0.58 percent to 2,203.59 while Samsung shares ended 0.65 percent lower.
New Zealand shares finished marginally higher, with the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gaining 1 point to close at 10,013.83.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended slightly higher after the release of strong consumer spending data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up marginally, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2 percent to reach fresh record closing highs.
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