Mixed Performance on Asian Stock Markets as Investors Await US Jobs Data

The leading stock exchanges in Asia began the last day of the trading week in different directions in a situation where investors are waiting for new employment figures from the US, which can provide an indication of where the American interest rate is heading.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index had risen by 0.5 percent at lunchtime, while the broader Topix index rose 0.6 percent.

It was much gloomier in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index lost 0.2 percent.

In Shanghai and Shenzhen, they had difficulty reading the market and their respective composite indexes hovered around zero.

South Korea's stock exchange is closed for the holiday.