BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks fell Friday as investors waited for American employment data and details of U.S.-Chinese trade talks.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong fell while Australia edged up.
Investors looked ahead to monthly U.S. jobs data due out Friday, which are expected to be a factor in the Federal Reserve’s decision this month on interest rates. The markets expect a solid 165,000 increase in non-farm payrolls.
The central bank has said it is prepared to cut rates to shore up the U.S. economy if trade disputes crimp growth.
Expectations are rising that central banks will adopt “more dovish stances,” said IHS Markit in a report. “All incoming data will be scrutinized for last-minute policy signals.”
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.09% lost 0.1% and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, +0.13% was also flat.
South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.04% was flat, but shares of Samsung Electronics Co. 005930, -0.87% slid 1.2% after the electronics group warned second-quarter operating profit could fall 56.3% from a year earlier amid sluggish demand for memory chips.
Sydney’s S&P-ASX XJO, +0.71% gained 0.6%. New Zealand NZ50GR, +0.54% advanced while Taiwan Y9999, +0.09% and Singapore STI, -0.23% declined.
U.S. markets were closed Thursday for the Independence Day holiday.
Last weekend’s agreement by U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping to refrain from new tariffs pending a new round of negotiations has relieved some pressure on markets.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters Thursday he expected to announce new negotiations soon. Still, forecasters warn the truce is fragile because the two sides still face the disputes that caused talks to break down in May.
Benchmark U.S. crude CLU19, -0.96% lost 54 cents to $56.81 per barrel in electronic trading On the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.09 on Thursday to close at $57.34. Brent crude BRNU19, +0.05% , used to price international oils, was mostly flat at $63.32 per barrel in London. It lost 52 cents the previous session to $63.30.
The dollar USDJPY, +0.08% was little-changed at 107.87 yen. The euro EURUSD, -0.0620% declined to $1.1279 from $1.1286.
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