China Mobile buying stake in Thai peer By Laura He and Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, with Hong Kong shares rising to a five-month high after a reading of Chinese inflation came in roughly as expected, and as the central bank cut reserve ratio for selected banks. Japan’s Nikkei Average JP:NIK -0.85% retreated 0.9% to its lowest close in a week, as the yen USDJPY -0.20% rose against the dollar to ¥102.331 from ¥102.510 in the previous session. The broader Topix index JP:I0000 -0.49% also dropped, by 0.5%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.86% advanced 0.9%, bolstered by banking stocks, after the People’s Bank of China offered details about its previously announced plan to cut the reserve requirement ratio for selected banks. The ratio would go down half a percentage point for banks which lend to micro-and small-sized enterprises and rural sectors, with the cut effective on June 16, according to the central bank’s website on Monday evening. On Tuesday, China released its consumer-price index, which rose 2.5% in May from a year ago, broadly in line with market estimates. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index CN:SHCOMP +1.09% rallied 1.1%, posting its biggest daily gain in about a month. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO +0.10% also inched up 0.1%, with the Aussie AUDUSD +0.07% higher versus the dollar, buying 93.59 U.S. cents from 93.43 cents in the prior session. Hong Kong market heavyweight China Mobile HK:0941 +1.12% gained 1.1%, after the state-owned telecoms giant said late Monday that it’s buying an 18% stake in Thai peer True Corp. for $882 million. Mainland banks were also well bid, with Agricultural Bank of China HK:1288 +1.65% gaining 1.7%, and both ICBC HK:1398 +1.16% and Bank of Communications HK:3328 +1.14% rising 1.2%. However, casino stocks sold off, as Melco Crown Entertainment HK:6883 -5.28% tumbled 5.3%, and SJM Holdings HK:0880 -5.19% fell 5.2%. In Japan, semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics Corp. JP:6723 -3.28% declined 3.3%, electronics maker Sharp Corp. JP:6753 -2.26% lost 2.3%, and Internet conglomerate SoftBank JP:9984 -1.93% traded lower by 1.9%. Auto maker Mazda Motor JP:7261 -1.25% moved down 1.3%, and bigger rival Toyota Motor JP:7203 -1.16% was off 1.2%. China data: Prices do as expected Chinese prices for May, both consumer and producer, have more or less matched economists’ average forecast, with reaction to the numbers mostly positive. The consumer-price index was 2.5% higher in May than it was a year earlier, marking a 0.1% gain from the previous month after registering slight month-on-month losses in March and April. The result was smack in line with the median forecast from a Dow Jones Newswires survey of analysts and just above Bloomberg’s projected increase of 2.4%. Over on the wholesale side, the producer price index fell 1.4% from its year-ago level — slipping 0.1% on a monthly basis after a 0.2% drop in April.

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