Asia stocks mixed as Chinese inflation at 18-month-low

Asian stocks were mixed in morning trade on Friday after weak Chinese inflation data raised concerns about the risk of deflation in the world's second-largest economy. Tokyo was up 0.59 per cent by the break as bargain hunting reversed opening losses triggered by a strong yen. Hong Kong was down 0.18%, Shanghai was 0.12% lower, Sydney slipped 0.34% while Seoul was up 0.20%. Chinese annual inflation fell sharply to 1.8 per cent in April, the lowest reading since October 2012 and well below the 3.5 per cent annual target set by Beijing. The data is likely to add to worries that deflation could be looming as Chinese growth slows. Moderate inflation can be a boon to consumption as it encourages consumers to buy before prices go up, but falling prices encourage consumers to put off spending and companies to delay investment, both of which act as brakes on growth. There was no clear lead from US stocks which finished mixed on Thursday as selling pressure continued to dog the technology sector amid worries about overvaluations, according to AFP.