Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Friday, as investors awaited the release of US non-farm payroll data later in the day. The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is expected to show an increase of about 190,000 jobs in February following the addition of 151,000 jobs in January. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.9 percent. Investors will also focus on the annual session of China's National People's Congress that begins in Beijing on Saturday, which opens with a speech by Premier Li Keqiang that is likely to downgrade the country's official growth forecast. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market is declining after three straight days of gains, with a stronger yen. Among the other Asian markets, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, South Korea, Indonesia, and Shanghai are lower.
Nikkei 225 contracted 16.73 points or 0.10% to 16,943.43, KOSPI Index declined 1.42 points or 0.07% to 1,956.75, Jakarta Composite dipped 36.29 points or 0.75% to 4,807.75, and Shanghai Composite was down by 13.89 points or 0.49% to 2,845.87.
On the flip side, Straits Times jumped 37.75 points or 1.35% to 2,825.37, Hang Seng added 121.77 points or 0.61% to 20,063.53, Taiwan Weighted surged 34.14 points or 0.40% to 8,645.93 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 6.69 points or 0.40% to 1,694.89.