Asian markets mixed as investors await U.S. jobs report Associated Press

By Associated Press

BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rose to a high as investors waited for U.S. jobs data for an update on how coronavirus flareups are affecting the biggest global economy.

The Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP -0.49% lost 0.5% while the Hang Seng /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI -0.07% in Hong Kong shed 0.2%. Chinese stocks have been hurt by a spate of anti-monopoly and data security campaigns launched by Beijing against tech companies.

The Nikkei 225 /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.29% in Tokyo added less than 0.1% after Japanese labor cash earnings edged lower in June for the first time in four months.

The Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +1.30% in Seoul lost 0.2% and the ASX/S&P 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.35% in Sydney was little-changed. Stocks in New Zealand /zigman2/quotes/211587880/delayed NZ:NZ50GR +0.68% and Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 +1.41% declined while Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI +0.23% and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX +0.07% advanced.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained after investors were encouraged Thursday by a decline in U.S. unemployment claims. They were watching for Friday’s monthly employment report for an indication of how new disease flareups and renewed anti-disease curbs might be affecting hiring and wages.

“The jobs report will be the key highlight to end the week” amid conflicting market indicators that “put more uncertainty” on whether hiring expectations can be met, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -1.13% rose 0.6% to 4,429.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -0.58% gained 0.8% to 35,064.25. The Nasdaq /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP -1.70% climbed 0.8% to 14,895.12.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 8 cents to $69.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 94 cents on Thursday to $69.09. Brent crude , the price basis for international oils, gained 8 cents to $71.37 per barrel in London. It advanced 91 cents the previous session to $71.29.

The dollar /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY +0.2708% rose to 109.86 yen from Thursday’s 109.76 yen.

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