Japanese stocks clawed back some ground Friday, as investors looked ahead to a key U.S. jobs report due later in the day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 143.88 points, or 0.8%, to 17,648.50.
The yen also rose against the U.S. dollar to ¥117.32, from ¥117.54 late Thursday in New York.
The U.S. Labor Department was scheduled to release its closely watched jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists estimate the U.S. is likely to have added 230,000 jobs in January.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index erased Thursday’s gains by dropping 86.10 points, or 0.4%, to 24,679.39.
Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks both retreated, after a senior official from the People’s Bank of China said the central bank’s previous move to lower the reserve requirement ratio for banks was just an ordinary policy operation based on economic and liquidity conditions, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
CHINA
The Shanghai CS300 index fell 54.53 points, or 1.6%, to 3,312.42 after Lu Lei, the research head of PBOC said the central bank’s latest reserve ratio cut was not “the start of strong stimulus”, according to state media reports.
In other markets;
The Kospi in Korea gained 2.68 points, or 0.1%, to 1,955.52
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 55.87 points, or 0.6%, to 9,456.18
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recouped 24.78 points, or 0.7%, to 3,431.36
The S&P/ASX index added 9.19 points, or 0.2%, to 5,820.17
Markets in New Zealand were shuttered for holiday
