Asian equity markets ended in green on Friday as a set of upbeat economic data from the US and Europe helped investors shrug off US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The focus remained on the all-important US jobs report due out later in the day as it could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates. US employment is expected to increase by 185,000 jobs in May after an increase of 211,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4 percent. Japanese shares led regional gains as strong US private hiring data helped lift the dollar to a one-week high against the yen. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks ended little changed as investors fretted over tighter liquidity and slowing economic growth.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,105.54 | 2.92 | 0.09 |
Hang Seng | 25,924.05 | 114.83 | 0.44 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,742.45 | 4.29 | 0.07 |
KLSE Composite | 1,776.95 | 13.84 | 0.78 |
Nikkei 225 | 20,177.28 | 317.25 | 1.60 |
Straits Times | 3,240.01 | 4.05 | 0.13 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,371.72 | 27.11 | 1.16 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,152.53 | 65.11 | 0.65 |