Asia markets struggle

Asian markets struggled Tuesday from the previous day's hammering with soothing comments on US rates from a top Federal Reserve official unable to reassure tetchy traders.

While Tokyo and Hong Kong saw mild recoveries from Monday's sharp sell-off there are growing concerns about the future for central bank policy easing after years of cheap cash.

Markets globally were sent into a tailspin after Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren and governor Daniel Tarullo on Friday signalled their openness to a September move.

But comments from policy board governor Lael Brainard on Monday that the case for lifting borrowing costs early was "less compelling" provided some much-needed respite, sending US shares rallying.

She said the US central bank should adopt a "moderate and gradual" approach to lifting rates and avoid moves to "tighten policy pre-emptively".

Most Asian stocks rose early Tuesday but the rally petered out as the day wore on.

By the close of trade Tokyo was up 0.3 percent and Seoul added 0.4 percent but Sydney closed down 0.2 percent and Wellington lost 0.4 percent. There were also sharp losses in Singapore and Jakarta.

"With Brainard's remarks, rate-hike expectations have backed down. It seems that the slump in US equities last week was a bit overdone," Toshihiko Matsuno, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.

"But the market isn't likely to take on an aggressive buying mode before the results from the (Bank of Japan's) and the Fed's monetary policy meetings next week."

- China beats forecasts -

With expectations for a rate rise reduced slightly the dollar dipped against its peers, easing to 101.80 yen from 101.85 yen in New York and well off the 102.50 yen mark seen earlier Thursday in Asia.

The Australian dollar jumped 0.4 percent, while Malaysia's ringgit, the Singapore dollar and Indonesian rupiah also each posted healthy gains.

In China the government released another batch of positive data suggesting the world's number two economy is stabilising.

Retail sales, a key measure of consumer spending, and industrial output raced ahead in August from the previous month and beat expectations. Last week investors welcomed strong trade and inflation figures.

The figures come as authorities try to move the economy from a reliance on investment spending and exports to one driven more by consumer demand, although the transition has proven bumpy and gross domestic product growth is slowing.

Hong Kong fell 0.3 percent, extending Monday's 3.4 percent plunge despite forecast-beating Chinese data. Shanghai ended marginally higher.

"Though China's industrial production and retail sales beat expectations, people won't expect data to continue to improve," Castor Pang, head of research at Core-Pacific Yamaichi Hong Kong, told Bloomberg News.

"The data also don't signal any intention for economic stimulus, so the market can't rebound strongly."

In Seoul Samsung Electronics rallied more than four percent a day after plunging seven percent on the back of an exploding battery crisis in its flagship Note 7 smartphone.

The gains also follow news that the firm had offloaded its printer business to US giant HP for more than a billion dollars as it presses ahead with a restructuring drive.

In early European trade London rose 0.3 percent, Frankfurt added 0.4 percent and Paris gained 0.5 percent.

- Key figures around 0800 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 16,729.04 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,023.51 (close) 

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,215.76 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 6,720.25

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1233 from $1.1234 late Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3312 from $1.3336

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 101.80 yen from 101.85

New York - DOW: UP 1.3 percent at 18,325,07 (close)

Source: AFP