BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stocks fell Thursday after data showed inflation in China was heating up again, complicating efforts by Beijing to stimulate the world's No. 2 economy. A snag in talks to prevent Greece going bankrupt also weighed on sentiment.
Benchmark oil hovered below $99 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.2 percent to 9,002.12 after a government report showed a decline in machinery orders. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 1,996.51. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent to 20,910.52 and Australia's S&P ASX/200 shed 0.3 percent at 4,279.80.
Investor sentiment hit a hurdle after China released data showing consumer prices had risen 4.5 percent in January over a year earlier, up from the previous month's 4.1 percent. Food prices jumped 10.5 percent, driven by a 25 percent gain in the cost of pork, the staple meat in China.
The People's Bank of China eased lending curbs in December to promote growth in the slowing economy. But the unexpected jump in the cost of living could make the central bank wary of carrying out further steps to loosen credit.
"They will not be relaxing monetary supply anytime soon," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "Actually that shows the economy, despite the various tightening measures, is still relatively strong."
Elsewhere, Japan's core machinery orders for December 2011 fell by 7.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Cabinet Office said. The figure, which excludes the volatile shipping and electric power industries, marked a downturn from a 14.8 percent expansion in November.
Hitachi Construction Machinery lost 1.7 percent, and construction machinery maker Komatsu shed 1.4 percent.
Australia mining companies came under pressure a day after BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest miner, announced a 5.5 percent drop in first-half profit. BHP shares fell 2 percent.
Rio Tinto, another global mining giant, releases its full-year results after the market closes Thursday. Its shares were down 0.2 percent. Iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group fell 1.1 percent. Paladin Energy, a uranium miner, dropped 1.9 percent.
Investor enthusiasm was also held in check after a crucial meeting in Greece aimed at averting the country's bankruptcy ended Thursday morning without definite results.
Still, Lun said there was confidence that a deal would be struck and that investors had become more relaxed, even about a negative outcome.
"I think a Greek default is a foregone conclusion. So if it happens, it won't shock anybody," he said.
Greece has been kept afloat for the last two years by euro110 billion ($145 billion) in international rescue loans. But the money was not enough and a second loan is urgently needed to avert bankruptcy.
International lenders, however, have refused to approve more aid unless Greece learns to live within its means and implements a strict austerity program. Without an injection of emergency money ? some euro130 billion ($170 billion) is on the line ? Greece will likely default on bond repayments due next month.
Wall Street staged an afternoon rally and closed higher Wednesday when it seemed that Greece was about to close in on a cost-cutting deal.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose marginally to close at 12,883.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.2 percent to 1,349.96. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.4 percent to 2,915.86.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was up 6 cents to $98.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 30 cents to end at $98.71 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.
In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3276 from $1.3288 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.17 yen from 77.01 yen.
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