Asian stock markets mostly advanced on Wednesday except in Tokyo as investors positioned themselves ahead of key central bank meetings in Japan and Europe.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 39 points at 8,746 in Tokyo, a three-week closing low. The Hang Seng advanced 47 points at 20,888 in Hong Kong after an extended weekend holiday.

Trading activity was lighter than usual with a holiday in China and as traders held back ahead of Friday's widely watched US jobs report. There was also some trepidation ahead of European Central Bank and Bank of Japan policy meeting on Thursday.

Sentiment continued to be hampered by ongoing uncertainty about the timing of a Spanish bailout request. Reports on Tuesday suggested that Spain could ask for financial aid as soon as this weekend. However Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy swiftly rebuffed the reports saying Spain had no immediate plans to ask for a bailout.

Weak economic data from China also unnerved investors. China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined from 56.3 to 53.7 in September, the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed.

Stocks on the move included car giants Toyota and Honda. The former was up 0.5% after monthly sales in the US surged while Honda fell 1.3% it said US sales by just under a third. Nissan motored 2.1% lower after it reported a 1.1% drop in US sales from the previous year.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, retailer Fast Retailing surged nearly 4% after it the group said it was on track to post ¥1trn in full year group sales.


CJ

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