BEIJING - Asian markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street's overnight decline on concern a U.S. government employment report might show worse-than-forecast July job losses.
Japanese and South Korean stocks rose but China, Australia and other markets ended the week down, denting a rally driven by hopes the global economy might be emerging from its worst slump since the 1930s.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 24.0 points, or 0.23 per cent, to close at 10,412 and South Korea's Kospi index gained 10.96, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,576. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 40.98, or 1.4 per cent, to 2,880.30 while Australia's benchmark declined 27.9, or 0.64 per cent, to 4,303.10.
Investors were disappointed by U.S. unemployment and retail data released overnight and some feared a government report due out Friday might show July job losses were worse than previously thought.
"People are a little scared there might be some disappointment there. So they are taking profits on the week," said Andrew Orchard, Asian strategist for Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 95.64 points, or 2.9 per cent, to close at 3260.69. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange dropped 3.4 per cent to 1087.23.
Real estate shares led Chinese declines after an announcement that the southern business center of Shenzhen will impose China's first property tax in an experiment that might expand nationwide, said Wen Lijun, an analyst for Nanjing Securities. But she said it was likely to be only a temporary breather in the rally that has pushed the Shanghai index up nearly 90 per cent this year.
"There was a slew of negative news in the market recently, so it is fluctuating after surging so fast and far," Wen said. "The general upward tendency is intact. Speculation on an economic recovery will be extended."
Singapore's benchmark was down 51.32, or 2 per cent, at 2,550.18 in late trading.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average and other major U.S. indexes retreated after the government reported that new unemployment claims fell last week but the number of people continuing to claim benefits rose.
Many of the biggest U.S. store chains reported disappointing July sales as consumers who were worried about jobs spent gingerly.
The Dow fell 24.71, or 0.3 per cent, to 9,256.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 5.64, or 0.6 per cent, to 997.08, its first finish below 1,000 since Friday. The Nasdaq composite index fell 19.89, or 1 per cent, to 1,973.16.
Oil prices slipped below $72 in Asia as benchmark crude for September delivery fell 37 cents to $71.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract gained 17 cents to settle at $72.14.
In currencies, the dollar fell to 95.29 yen from 95.35 yen. The euro was lower at $1.4355 from $1.4395.
