HONG KONG, Feb 1: Asian shares were mixed in cautious trading on Wednesday amid weaker than expected US economic data, slumping Japanese corporate earnings and ongoing uncertainty over Europe’s debt crisis.

Markets were broadly unmoved by official data from China showing manufacturing activity improved slightly in January, while a separate study by HSBC showed a continued contraction, albeit at a slower pace.

Tokyo ended flat, edging up 7.28 points to 8,809.79, Seoul rose 0.18 per cent, adding 3.45 points to 1,959.24, and Sydney slipped 0.87 per cent, or 37 points, to 4,225.7.Hong Kong fell 0.28 per cent, or 57.12 points, to 20,333.37 and Shanghai lost 1.07 per cent, or 24.53 points, to 2,268.08.

Singapore ended flat, dipping 1.93 points to 2,904.76. Singapore Airlines was down 1.26 per cent at Sg$10.96 and oil-rig maker Keppel Corp lost 2.21 per cent to Sg$10.61.

Manila gained 0.71 per cent, or 33.2 points, to 4,715.64. Energy Development Corp. rose 1.61 per cent to 5.69 pesos, Metropolitan Bank and Trust surged 4.02 per cent to 78.9 pesos and Ayala Corp gained 3.08 per cent to 362 pesos.

Wellington gained 0.17 per cent, or 5.59 points, to 3,301.79. Telecom, which is expected to post a strong result after spinning off its wholesale arm Chorus last year, rose 2.86 per cent to NZ$2.155.

Jakarta added 0.59 per cent, or 23.28 points, to close at 3,964.98. Among gainers, state-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia rose 2.9 per cent to 7,050 rupiah, while food producer Indofood gained one per cent to 4,850 rupiah.

Bangkok rose 0.22 per cent, or 2.39 points, to 1,086.36.

Mumbai rose 0.62 per cent, or 107.03 points, to 17,300.58.—AFP