Investing.com - Shares in Asia were narrowly mixed on Friday in thin trade with China's markets shut and investors turning their attention to Friday’s U.S. jobs report for September, which could help to provide clarity on the likelihood of a near-term interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% at the break, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.50%.
China's markets are closed for the National Day holidays and will re-open on Oct. 8.
In Japan, the August unemployment rate ticked up to 3.4%, from an expected steady 3.3%, while household spending jumped 2.9%, compared to a gain of 0.4% on year in real terms, the first rise in three months.
As well, the BoJ's September corporate inflation outlook said firms see a rise of 1.2% in CPI in one year,and a 1.4% gain in three years.
In Australia the August retail sales figures showed a 0.4% gain as expected.
Overnight, U.S. stocks opened the fourth quarter on a mixed note rallying late in the session, even as disappointing manufacturing data throughout the globe weighed on all three major indices.
On Thursday morning, The Institute for Supply Management said its index of National Factory Activity fell to 50.2 last month, below expectations for a reading of 50.5. Although any reading above 50 indicates expansion, the index fell to its lowest level since May, 2013. It followed downbeat reports in overnight trading, as manufacturing data in China fell 0.1 to 47.2 in September, its lowest level in six and a half years. The manufacturing sectors in Germany and the U.K. expanded at a slower rate than expected last month, while factory activity in France rose faster than its estimated pace.
Coming off its worst quarter in more than four years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly on Thursday during a choppy day of trading. The NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index, though, posted moderate gains after turning. The Dow rallied after a 211 point decline earlier in the session, but still closed negative after losing 12.69 or 0.08% to 16,272.01. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, gained 6.91 or 0.15% on Thursday to close at 4,627.08, in spite of steady losses from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL).
The S&P 500 rose 3.79 or 0.20% to 1,923.82, as stocks in 5 of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Basic Materials and Consumer Services led, while stocks in the Utilities, Telecommunications and Technology sectors lagged.