Asian equity markets ended mixed on Friday, as caution prevailed amid renewed trade worries and ahead of the release of the US jobs data for July later in the day. US employment is expected to increase by 190,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9 percent. Chinese shares dropped after a survey from Caixin showed earlier today that China's services sector continued to expand in July, albeit at a slower pace. The PMI stood at 52.8, down from 53.9 in the previous month as new orders expanded at their weakest rate in more than two and a half years. Meanwhile, Japanese shares closed on a flat note as trade war jitters and caution ahead of key US jobs data kept investors on the sidelines.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,741.08 | -26.94 | -0.98 |
Hang Seng | 27,676.32 | -38.24 | -0.14 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,007.54 | -4.18 | -0.07 |
KLSE Composite | 1,780.09 | 1.96 | 0.11 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,525.18 | 12.65 | 0.06 |
Straits Times | 3,265.73 | -20.59 | -0.63 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,287.68 | 17.48 | 0.76 |
Taiwan Weighted | 11,012.43 | 82.66 | 0.75 |
