Asia stocks fall on factory data

Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday following weak manufacturing data from China and Japan.

Asia's two largest economies saw factory activity expand at a slower pace in March, suggesting that their recovery may be losing momentum.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened 0.14% lower while the Shanghai Composite also fell.

Japan's Nikkei 225 has been trading flat while the broader Topix fell 0.3% after the yen strengthened.

Australian shares were trading higher, however, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.2% due to gains in gold mining stocks.

China's factory activity fell to an 11-month low in March after new orders decreased, a survey showed.

The flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dipped to 49.2 in March, which missed estimates, and was slightly weaker than February's final PMI of 50.7.

Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index by Markit fell to 50.4 on a seasonally-adjusted basis from a final 51.6 figure in February.

Any figure above 50 indicates an expansion, while any number below shows contraction.