This is live blog Report on Asia-Pacific markets
Asia-Pacific stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors anticipated the US jobs report for August, a key indicator ahead of the Reserve’s next interest rate decision. Federation later this month.
South Korea’s Consumer Price Index rose more than expected – 5.7% in August year-on-year, lower than analysts’ forecast of 6.1% in a Reuters poll .
The Nikkei 225 in Japan was mostly flat at 27,650.8 , while the Topix index was down 0.27% at 1,930.17. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.66% in final trading hours and the Hang Seng Technology Index dropped 1.28%.
In Australia, the SandP/ASX 200 closed down 0.25% at 6,828.70. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.26% to 2,409. 41 and Kosdaq fell 0.31% to 785.88.
Mainland China’s Shanghai Component increased to 3,186.48 and the Shenzhen Component fell to 11,702.39.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.52%.
U.S. crude and Brent crude extended gains in afternoon trade, gaining more than 2 percent.
Economists predict that 318,000 jobs were added in August, less than 528,000 jobs added in July, according to Dow Jones. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.5%.
“All the focus today is on payrolls by the end of the night, where the [whispering] numbers are more impressive than expected, which would strengthen the argument for a 75 basis point increase in September,” wrote Tapas Strickland, an economist at National Australia Bank. in a note on Friday.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.99 points, or 0.5%, to 31,656.42. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 3,966.85 and the Nasdaq Composite fell about 0.3% to 11,785.13.
News Source and Credit :- https://www.cnbc.com/