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Asian markets fall after rally

Hong Kong - Asian markets were lower on Friday as traders took a breather after healthy gains in the previous session while Chinese data showed growth in manufacturing activity had slowed.

Wall Street provided a meek lead, with the Dow ending lower after flirting with a record high as investors appeared to take in their stride looming deep US budget cuts due to take effect later in the day.

Tokyo eased 0.22%, Hong Kong fell 0.29%, Sydney was off 0.40% and Shanghai was 0.13% lower. Seoul was closed for a holiday.

China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed activity in the crucial manufacturing sector eased to 50.1 last month from 50.4 in January. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

The figures follow HSBC's preliminary data earlier this week of 50.4, down from 52.3 in January, and suggest the recent pick-up in the world's number two economy is weaker than initially thought. HSBC's final figures will be released later on Friday.

Shares in the United States ended lower, with the Dow seeing a late sell-off after moving within a few points of its record high seen just before the onset of the global financial crisis.

Traders were left unimpressed by a revision of fourth-quarter US economic growth, which came in at a lower-than-forecast 0.1%, although it was better than the 0.1% contraction previously estimated.

There seemed to be little reaction to the fact that the government was poised to start slashing spending Friday as the $85bn in federal cuts known as the "sequester" comes in, which economists say will trim growth.

The Dow ended 0.15% lower, while the S&P 500 lost 0.09% and the Nasdaq edged down 0.07%.

Currency markets were quiet in early trade after a volatile week, which saw the dollar and euro surge against the yen before tumbling in reaction to Italian elections that renewed concerns about the eurozone.

In Tokyo the dollar bought ¥92.60, compared with ¥92.58 in New York on Thursday afternoon. The euro fetched ¥121.03 and $1.3069 compared with ¥120.95 and $1.3062.

Oil prices eased, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, shedding 45 cents to $91.60 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery sliding 43 cents to $110.95.

Gold was at $1 582.70 at 02:30 GMT compared with $1 591.00 late on Thursday.

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