HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Most Asian stock markets fell Friday after news that Chinese economic growth and inflation had both exceeded expectations, sparking fresh worries that more interest-rate increases could soon follow last week's, which was the fourth in six months.

""Given that the mainland economy remains very strong, we would characterize People's Bank of China policy as still moderately accommodative and behind the curve,"" said Win Thin, global head of emerging markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. ""Fears of a hard landing will surely rise, but we do think that China policymakers still have time to set things right, but action is needed soon.""
Mumbai was hit hard as results and forecasts from bellwether Infosys Technologies disappointed investors and India's own inflation data triggered interest-rate worries there as well.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gave up 0.7% to 9591.52, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 4852.1, and Taiwan's Taiex shed 1% to 8718.12, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and South Korea's Kospi ended little changed, at 24008.07 and 2140.50, respectively. Mumbai's Sensex lost 1.6% to 19386.82.
China's Shanghai Composite Index itself defied the broad regional trend to rise 0.3% to 3050.53. Many property developers, having dropped in the previous session in anticipation of a jump in March consumer prices, rose to lead the rebound.
Shares of Poly Real Estate Group rose 2.3% in Shanghai, while China Vanke gained 1.1% in Shenzhen.
Chinese insurers also climbed on hopes interest-rate increases would boost their incomes, with China Life Insurance adding 1.2% and Ping An Insurance Group climbing 1.9%.
Data released earlier in the day showed China's March consumer price index was up 5.4% from a year earlier, exceeding February's 4.9% and marking the fastest inflation rate since July 2008. Other data, including gross domestic product, also painted a picture of an economy still running at a pace that's likely to keep inflation high. First-quarter GDP was up an annualized 9.7%, down marginally from the fourth quarter's 9.8% but above market expectations.
The strong growth data led economists at Standard Chartered to raise their 2011 GDP forecast for China to 9.3% from 8.5%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 25 points in electronic trading.
Concerns that further monetary tightening in China might temper demand there also weighed on some other regional markets.
""While the (China CPI) number is mostly in line with expectations, there will be lingering concerns about additional tightening moves,"" said Toshihiko Matsuno, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.
In Tokyo, Hitachi Construction Machinery dropped 1.4% and Sony fell 1.3%. In Taipei, Asia Cement dropped 2.1% and Acer dropped 1.6%, while in Seoul, Kumho Tire shed 1% and Samsung Electronics lost 1.3%.
Shares of Infosys Technologies fell 9.6%, weighing heavily on the broad market. The fall came after the company reported a nearly 14% increase in fiscal-fourth-quarter net profit, and forecast an 8% to 10% earnings increase in U.S. dollar terms during the financial year started April 1--both falling short of some expectations.
""If other information technology companies also offer the same kind of guidance, we'll see muted
[earnings] growth for Sensex stocks during the current financial year,"" said S. Tulsian, a member of India's National Stock Exchange.
ICICI Bank and real-estate major DLF both fell 2.4%, after data showed India's wholesale price index for March was up nearly 9%, way above market expectations.
""This spells more tightening by the
[Reserve Bank of India] and the next move will be at the May monetary policy meeting,"" HSBC economist Leif Lybecker Eskesen wrote in a note to clients, adding that the RBI may feel the need to act more aggressively by raising rates 0.5 percentage point.
In Sydney, mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 1% and 1.1%, respectively, on Thursday's weakness in copper prices.
But gold miners inside and outside Australia were higher after spot gold hit a fresh record high of $1,478.05 a troy ounce in Asian trade.
Newcrest Mining rose 1.5% in Sydney, while Zijin Mining Group rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai. Gold was recently at $1,473 per ounce, down $2.80 from its New York settlement Thursday.
Elsewhere in the region, Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, Indonesian shares gained 0.6%, Philippine shares rose 0.4% and New Zealand's NZX 50 slipped 0.1%. Markets in Thailand were shut for a holiday.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro slipped to $1.4468 from $1.4489 in late New York trade Thursday, and to 120.46 yen from Y120.94, reflecting investor caution toward risk currencies amid fears of policy tightening in China and worries over European sovereign debt issues. The dollar was at Y83.27, from Y84.48.
May Nymex crude-oil futures were down 43 cents at $107.68 per barrel on Globex.