Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of U.S. Jobs Data

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors digested recent policy decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England and awaited key U.S. payroll data due later in the day for further clues on the economic outlook.

Chinese shares fell sharply amid property market jitters after Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. and three of its units had their shares suspended.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped 35.30 points, or 1 percent, to 3,491.57, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended down 354.68 points, or 1.4 percent, at 24,870.51.

Kaisa said on Thursday its finance unit had missed a payment on wealth management products it guaranteed in the latest sign of stress in the nation’s beleaguered real estate industry.

Japanese shares ended lower as the yen firmed up and data showed Japan’s household spending fell in September. The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 182.80 points, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 29,611.57, while the broader Topix closed 0.7 percent lower at 2,041.42.

Honda Motor declined 3.1 percent after the automaker cut its full-year profit forecast by 15 percent. Toyota Motor and Nissan fell 1.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Gaining giant Nintendo rose over 3 percent after upgrading its full-year net profit forecast.

Meanwhile, Australian shares eked out modest gains as the country’s central bank boosted its 2022 growth forecast in a quarterly round up of the economy.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 28.90 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,456.90 and gained 1.8 percent for the week. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 30.90 points, or 0.4 percent, at 7,777.20.

Gold miners Evolution, Newcrest and Northern Star Resources jumped 4-6 percent as bullion advanced after the Bank of England defied market expectations by keeping interest rates on hold.

Woodside Petroleum lost 1.8 percent after the energy group reduced its share of gas reserves in the Greater Pluto project by about 10 percent.

Link Administration soared 8.6 percent on news the share registry firm would consider a fresh A$2.81 billion ($2.08 billion) offer from private equity firm Carlyle Group.

Seoul stocks declined amid an institutional sell-off, with financial, steel and chemical heavyweights leading losses on worries about possibilities of Chinese stagflation.

The Kospi average dropped 13.95 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,969.27. Financial top cap Kakao Bank tumbled 4.7 percent and steelmaker Posco gave up 4.2 percent.

New Zealand shares rose sharply, with the benchmark NZX 50 Index jumping 130.67 points, or 1 percent, to 13,074.61, led by heavyweights Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Mainfreight and The a2 Milk Company.

U.S. stocks ended broadly higher overnight, with another batch of upbeat earnings news and encouraging jobless claims data helping generate buying interest.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.8 percent to reach new record closing highs, while the Dow ended marginally lower.

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