China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd., a state-owned builder, fell 0.8 percent in Hong Kong. Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s No. 1 consumer electronics exporter, dropped 1 percent in Seoul after Apple Inc. claimed the company violated a court order in a patent-infringement case. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. (6305), a maker of bulldozers and cranes, rose 1.6 percent in Tokyo.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1 percent to 126.78 as of 10:37 a.m. in Tokyo, with about as many stocks declining advancing. All but two of 10 industry groups in the measure dropped.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) rose 0.3 percent after the nation’s machinery orders rebounded in January, signaling company investment will help to drive a return to growth.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.1 percent, and the Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, slid 0.1 percent.

China posted its largest trade deficit since at least 1989 last month as Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil damped exports and imports rebounded after a week-long holiday. The shortfall was $31.5 billion, the customs bureau said on March 10.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.4 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Hong Kong at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-12/most-asian-stocks-rise-on-improving-u-s-jobs-data-japan-machinery-orders.html

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