Stocks – Asia
Asian stocks were seen trading mixed on the last day of the trading week as investors focus on the release of the US non-farm payrolls for April, due later in the day.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.19% lower closing the session at 14,4457.51, while Tokyo’s broader Topix index edged 0.02% higher at 1,182.48.
Japan’s industrial company, IHI Corporation saw the most gains on the Nikkei, coming in at 5.15% while Dowa Holdings lost 4.10%.
Japan’s household spending climbed 7.2% in March on a year-on-year basis, compared to analysts forecast of a 1.7% growth in consumption, reports revealed on Friday.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.69% trading at 22,287 at the time of writing, while the mainland Chinese Shanghai Composite was closed for a public holiday.
In China, the nation’s largest coal miners, China Shenhua climbed 2.38% higher, while China Unicom lost 4.20%.
China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) came in at 50.4 in April, slightly up from the previous reading of 50.3 seen in March but still lower than analysts’ forecasts of 50.5.
Jobs report
Traders will be focusing on the release of the US non-farm payrolls reports for April, with analysts expecting to see 218,000 new jobs added to the jobs market in April, while unemployment is expected to come in at 6.6% from 6.7%.
Meanwhile, jobs data from the eurozone is expected to show that the unemployment rate remained unchanged in March, standing at 11.9%.
Stocks – Europe
Stocks in Europe were seen falling on Friday, with the Euro Stoxx index falling 0.37% lower to 3,186.70 at the time of writing, while the German DAX edged 0.14% lower to 9,590.54. At the same time the French CAC 40 lost 0.35% to 4,471.67 and the UK benchmark FTSE 100 declined 0.01% to 6,805.50.
Final PMIs
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Spain’s manufacturing sector was at 52.7 points in April, compared to the previous reading of 52.8 points seen in March and down from analysts forecast of a 53.4 rise, reports from Markit Economic showed.
Analysts are forecasting France to post a drop of 50.9 in April, down from the 52.1 reported in March. While the eurozone as a whole is expected to have risen to 53.3 in April, slightly picking up from March’s reading of 53.
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