Asian equities were subdued on Friday (February 5) and the dollar wobbled ahead of the closely watched U.S. jobs report, which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook.
The markets will look to the U.S. jobs data for direction, with the employment report expected to how employers adding 190,000 jobs in January, the median estimate of 108 economists polled by Reuters.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 1 percent despite an overnight rise on Wall Street.
In Hong Kong, Hang Seng index opened up 0.5 percent at 19,287.36 points on the last trading day before the Lunar New Year break, while the index in mainland China opened flat in the morning session.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen opened down 0.1 percent, to 2,982.06, while the Shanghai Composite Index opened up 0.1 percent, to 2,783.08 points.
In South Korea, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) stood at 1,916.61 points, almost unchanged from the previous close.
Australian shares fell 0.7 percent, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 38.5 points at 4,941.9 as of 0206 GMT, reversing nearly a third of Thursday (February 4)’s gains. (Reuters)