Investing.com - Shares in Asia had a roller coaster day with the Shanghai Composite swinging between gains and losses on a mix of upbeat data and support measures.
The Shanghai Composite was in positive territory, up 1.30%, near the break, while the Hang Seng index rose 3.24% and the S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.42% in a volatile morning marked by regional data flows as well as events over Greece.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.69% after core machinery orders for May rose 0.6%, well above the expected drop of 5%.
Eurogroup President and European Stability Mechanism Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem sent a letter to the top euro zone economic officials asking them to assess Greece's request for a stability loan.
In China, June CPI rose 1.4%, above the 1.3% gain seen, while PPI fell 4.8%, more than the drop of 4.5% expected, indicating an easing in deflationary pressure on the consumer figure, but producer prices are at a four-month low and extend the run of negative growth to a record 40 months, highlighting the problems of widespread industrial overcapacity.
In Australia, the June labour force survey showed a gain of 7,300 jobs, well above a fall of 5,000 jobs month-on-month expected after a strong 42,000 rise in May. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.0% but the labor participation rate rose to 64.8% from 64.7%.
The People's Bank of China on Thursday provided liquidity to China Securities Finance Corp via re-lending at its request, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The PBOC will also let the CSFC issue financial bonds, including short-term commercial paper in the interbank market, and pledged to continue to provide liquidity support to CSFC via various channels. The Shanghai Composite index gained 2.35% in morning trade.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.47% to hit a new 3-months low, while the S&P 500 index lost 1.66%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 1.75%.