The WSJ reports,"Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, with gains in Japan offsetting declines in Australia, at the end of a broadly negative week for the region's stocks.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1%, though Chinese consumer prices rose slightly less in April than expected. Consumer prices rose 1.8% compared with a year earlier, while economists forecast a 2% gain. April's measure is somewhat lower the 2.4% gain seen in March".
The inflation numbers came out one day after a set of strong Chinese trade data boosted regional sentiment, with a surprise increase in exports.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.6% in trading, as the index retreated from a 0.8% gain on Thursday—its biggest rise in a month. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1% and Singapore's Straits Times Index was flat.
Japan's Nikkei added 0.6%, as the market recovered from weak trading earlier in the week. Tokyo was digesting Thursday's earnings from bellwether Toyota Motor Corp.7203.TO +0.76% , which gained 0.6%, as a surge in profit over the last 12 months offset the company's forecast of flat revenue and operating profit in the coming year.
In currencies, the yen was unmoved against the U.S. dollar and was last trading at ¥101.74 to the dollar.
