Investing.com - Asian stock markets ended the session mixed on Friday, as ongoing concerns over the outlook for global economic growth overshadowed Thursday's upbeat U.S. jobless data.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.71%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index added 0.07%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.15%.
Data on Thursday showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since February 2008 last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 369,000 from a previously reported 367,000.
But concerns over the worsening of the euro zone's debt crisis re-emerged after top economists slashed their growth forecasts for Germany on Thursday, and warned that public support for financial aid for struggling countries was evaporating.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei edged lower amid global growth concerns and after government data earlier showed that tertiary industry activity in Japan rose less-than-expected in August, ticking up 0.4% after a 1.9% decline the previous month.
Samsung Electronics fell 0.60%, earsing earlier gains posted after A U.S. appeals court overturned a pretrial sales ban against the South-Korean compan's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
Softbank plunged 16.87% after saying it is in talks to invest in U.S. firm Sprint Nextel
On the upside, Nippon Steel surged 5.66% and Japan Steel Works jumped 2.42%. Toyota Motor was also on the upside, with shares climbing 1.07%.
Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong were higher, supported by strong gains in the financial sector.
China Construction Bank advanced 1.41% and Bank of China rose 0.66%, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 1.88%.
Oil stocks added to gains, as shares in PetroChina rose 0.19%, while China Shenhua and Sinopec surged 1.46% and 1.33% respectively.
Elsewhere, Australian shares inched higher, lifted by gains in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.77% and 0.87% respectively.
Surfwear retailer Billabong International ended down 16.92% on the other hand, after private equity firm TPG dropped its AUD694 million bid.
Looking ahead, European stock futures pointed to a mixed open, amid renewed euro zone debt concerns.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a 0.06% gain, France’s CAC 40 futures climbed 0.47%, London’s FTSE 100 futures fell 0.19%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 0.02% loss.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.
The U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation, while the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment.