Most cheerful on Asia's stock exchanges

The leading Asian stock exchanges largely opened on a plus note ahead of Friday's major monthly job report from the USA.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index had climbed 0.2 percent by lunchtime, while the broader Topix index rose 0.4.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent.

In Shanghai and Shenzhen, the composite index fell 0.2 and 0.6 percent, respectively.