Asia report: Most markets fall ahead of US jobs report

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region mostly finished lower on Friday, as investors closed their wallets ahead of the key US nonfarm payrolls report due later in the global day.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.04% at 27,650.84, as the yen weakened 0.18% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 140.46.

Fashion firm Fast Retailing was up 9.68%, while automation specialist Fanuc was down 0.27% and technology conglomerate SoftBank Group was 0.31% lower.

The broader Topix index was off 0.27% by the end of trading in Tokyo, settling at 1,930.17.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite managed gains of 0.05% to 3,186.48, and the technology-centric Shenzhen Component slipped 0.09% to 11,702.39.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.26% at 2,409.41, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.74% lower at 19,452.09.

Casino operators were on the front foot in the special administrative region, after the industry in the gambling-focussed resort of Macau said gaming revenue was down 50.7% year-on-year in August.

That was a significant improvement from the 95.3% fall the region reported for July, and saw Galaxy Entertainment Group rise 0.12%, MGM China add 0.51%, Sands China gain 0.47%, and Wynn Macau advance 0.86%.

Chinese electric car makers, meanwhile, fell after both Li Auto and Xpeng reported a fall in deliveries on both a monthly and yearly basis in August.

Li Auto was down 1.98%, Nio slid 3.26%, and Xpeng tumbled 5.18% to reach a new 52-week low.

The blue-chip technology stocks were in the back foot in Seoul as well, with Samsung Electronics down 1.54% and SK Hynix losing 0.76%.

Inflation in South Korea came in slower than anticipated in August, with the consumer price index rising 5.7% year-on-year in August.

Analysts polled by Reuters had pencilled in a rise of 6.1%.

Oil prices were in the green as the region entered the weekend, with Brent crude futures last up 1.53% on ICE at $93.77 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate 1.71% firmer at $88.09 on NYMEX.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was behind by 0.25% at 6,828.70, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 eked out a rose of 0.16% to 11,628.25.

The down under dollars were both stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.23% at AUD 1.4698, and the Kiwi advancing 0.19% to NZD 1.6416.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.