Japan’s Topix index erased earlier losses as investors weighed an unexpected increase in China’s manufacturing against Federal Reserve minutes showing broad support for paring unprecedented stimulus.

Daikin Industries Ltd. (6367), an air-conditioner maker that gets 18 percent of revenue in China, rose 0.2 percent after falling as much as 1.7 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., an automaker that gets 30 percent of its sales in North America, pared its loss to 2.5 percent. Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, fell 4.5 percent, extending yesterday’s 9.3 percent drop, as it said it needs overseas expertise to help contain radioactive water leaks.

The Topix (TPX) was little changed at 1,122.24 at the trading break in Tokyo after falling as much as 0.9 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.3 percent to 13,380.28. The preliminary reading of 50.1 for a China Purchasing Managers’ Index released today by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with a final figure of 47.7 in July, and was higher than all 16 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

“China’s manufacturing data definitely changed the market’s direction,” said Kenji Shiomura, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan’s second largest brokerage. “The data is easing a risk-off sentiment, which has been persistent recently. The focus has been on capital outflows out of Asia and slower growth in emerging markets due to the Fed’s tapering.” (Bloomberg)