Investing.com - Asian stocks traded mostly higher Friday as traders braced for the release of U.S. jobs data for August due out later Friday.
In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.13% as the yen strengthened against the dollar ahead of the jobs report. Shipping firms were among the leaders in Japan, but property development shares lagged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.36% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.35%. Hong Kong-listed and Chinese shares are still considered cheap on a valuation basis.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.41% ahead of national elections there Saturday. Mining and financial services shares were among the losers in Australia.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the ADP National Employment Report showed the addition of 176,000 private sector jobs last month, but that missed the estimate calling for the addition of 180,000 new jobs. The July number was revised down to 198,000 from 200,000.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week to 323,000. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 3,000 to 328,500, the lowest reading since October 2007. The Labor Department releases the August jobs report Friday before the open of U.S. markets.
The Institute for Supply Management said its August services purchasing managers index rose to 58.6% last month from 56.0% in July. That is good for the best reading since the index was created in 2008. Economists expected an August reading of 55%.
New Zealand’s NZSE50 inched up 0.05% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.29%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.48%.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% a day after the benchmark U.S. index rose 0.12%.
In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.13% as the yen strengthened against the dollar ahead of the jobs report. Shipping firms were among the leaders in Japan, but property development shares lagged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.36% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.35%. Hong Kong-listed and Chinese shares are still considered cheap on a valuation basis.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.41% ahead of national elections there Saturday. Mining and financial services shares were among the losers in Australia.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the ADP National Employment Report showed the addition of 176,000 private sector jobs last month, but that missed the estimate calling for the addition of 180,000 new jobs. The July number was revised down to 198,000 from 200,000.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week to 323,000. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 3,000 to 328,500, the lowest reading since October 2007. The Labor Department releases the August jobs report Friday before the open of U.S. markets.
The Institute for Supply Management said its August services purchasing managers index rose to 58.6% last month from 56.0% in July. That is good for the best reading since the index was created in 2008. Economists expected an August reading of 55%.
New Zealand’s NZSE50 inched up 0.05% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.29%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.48%.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% a day after the benchmark U.S. index rose 0.12%.