TOKYO, Feb 17 — Japan drove gains among Asian equities after disappointing data on machinery orders fueled speculation regulators there will have to bolster stimulus further.

Emerging-market currencies slid as a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze oil production failed to assuage anxiety over this year’s crude selloff.

The Topix index’s gains in Tokyo put the gauge on track for its best three-day advance since 2008 as stocks in Seoul also climbed with US index futures. 

The Malaysian ringgit slipped to its weakest level in two weeks amid losses for the South Korean won and Thai baht.

Crude was below US$30 (RM126.19) a barrel after the world’s two biggest oil producers agreed to hold output at near- record levels, despite speculation that they would reduce production.

“The more bad news there is, the higher the chance there will be further stimulus, which is good,” Andrew Clarke, Hong Kong-based director of trading at Mirabaud Asia Ltd, said by e- mail.

“In short, bad is good.”

The weaker-than-expected machinery data came on the heels of evidence Asia’s second-largest economy shrank on an annualized basis at the end of of 2015.

Central bank attempts to steady global markets this year amid unprecedented volatility have had mixed success, with Japanese shares initially falling after the Bank of Japan announced a move into negative interest rates.

Oil’s volatile journey in 2016 has fueled that uncertainty, amid concern over the impact on inflation. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, where officials indicated they were monitoring the turmoil in markets, are due today.

Stocks

About 100 more stocks rose as fell on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index as of 10:11am Tokyo time, with the Topix up 0.8 per cent. Softbank Group Corp. surged more than 15 per cent for a second session, leading the Nikkei 225 Stock Average up 0.7 per cent.

The Kospi index in Korea added 0.4 per cent.

A 3.6 per cent slide in energy stocks led Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index down 0.2 per cent, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd, the nation’s second-largest oil and natural gas producer, slumping 6.7 per cent after reporting a 99 per cent tumble in full-year profit amid the rout in energy prices.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index in New Zealand advanced 0.3 per cent in a third straight day of gains.

Given no cuts in production were agreed to by Russia and Saudi Arabia, “the market’s response to the agreement suggested they are underwhelmed,” Sharon Zollner, a senior economist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd, said in a note to clients.

“Oil prices at current levels are profitable for very few and so we find ourselves in that classic commodity equation: the best cure for low prices is low prices.”

Futures on the Hang Seng and Hang Seng China Enterprises indexes in Hong lost at least 0.7 per cent in most recent trading, while contracts on the FTSE China A50 Index were down 0.2 per cent following a 3.3 per cent rebound in the Shanghai Composite Index last session.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capped its best two-day gain since August Tuesday, rising 1.7 per cent as markets returned after a holiday Monday.

Futures on the US benchmark gained 0.3 per cent in today’s trading.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.9 per cent to US$29.31 a barrel, after falling 1.4 per cent last session on news of the Saudi-Russia pact.

The agreement, which doesn’t include Iran, is the first significant cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years, and Saudi Arabia said it’s open to further action.

The two countries agreed to a deal, which includes Qatar and Venezuela, that fixes output at January levels.

Gold was little changed in the spot market at US$1,201.71 an ounce following a three-day drop. — Bloomberg