China's stocks closed almost flat on Tuesday amid fears over lingering inflationary pressures.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.1 point higher at 2,899.24.
The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.21 percent, or 26.23 points, to 12,711.58 points.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 521 to 348 in Shanghai and 718 to 429 in Shenzhen.
Combined turnover expanded to 313.3 billion yuan (46.8 billion U.S. dollars) from 309.3 billion yuan the previous trading day.
China on Tuesday reported lower than expected consumer inflation in January, but the situation remained complicated because of ongoing drought and high global commodity prices.
The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 4.9 percent in January year on year due to surging food prices. Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI), a main gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 6.6 percent in January year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The data would help dispel worries of imminent increases of interest rates or bank reserve requirements, said Xu Biao, an analyst with China Merchants Bank.
The central bank would continue its tightening monetary policies, however, as Tuesday's data did not change the fact that prices would keep rising in coming months, said Wang Tao, an economist at UBS AG in Beijing.
A total of 23 stocks rose by the daily limit of 10 percent with none dropping by more than 5 percent.
Cement and non-ferrous metals were among the top gainers. Cement companies continued to rise on the prospect of the government's planned 4-trillion-yuan investment in water projects increasing demand.
Henan Tongli Cement Co. rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 15.48 yuan. Yunnan Aluminum Co. Ltd. also rose by 10 percent to 12.3 yuan.
