Asian Stock Markets Vary Ahead Of Latest US Employment Report

Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday before the release of U.S. employment statistics, which could affect the Federal Reserve's plans for additional interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.

While Tokyo and Hong Kong withdrew, Shanghai and Seoul advanced. Oil prices increased by over $1.50 per barrel.

Investors anticipated U.S. employment statistics for August to gauge the economy's response to four prior rate hikes enacted to combat inflation at a four-decade high. A strong result would provide Fed officials with support for their argument that higher interest rates are required to dampen economic activity and decrease upward pressure on consumer prices.

Yeap Jun Rong of IG wrote in research that if August's employment growth exceeds 300,000, it "may likely strengthen additional lean towards" a rate hike of up to 0.75 percentage points at the Fed's meeting this month.

The Shanghai Composite Index increased 0.1% to 3,189.09, whilst the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo decreased 0.2% to 27,606.37. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.8% to 19,443.49.

Due to new virus outbreaks, the Chinese government on Thursday ordered the majority of Chengdu's 21 million citizens to remain indoors. This contributed to the region's disturbance as it recovers from power rationing caused by drought-depleted reservoirs for hydroelectric dams, but economists believe the countrywide economic impact will be minimal.

The Kospi in Seoul increased by less than 0.1% to 2,417.25, while the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell by less than 0.1% to 6,844.80. Singapore fell as New Zealand and Jakarta rose.

The benchmark S&P 500 index increased 0.3% to 3,966.85 on Wall Street, snapping a four-day losing streak.

It closed August with a loss of 4.2% after soaring the previous month on anticipation that the Federal Reserve will halt rate hikes due to signals that the U.S. economy was slowing and inflation may be stabilizing.

These aspirations were dashed last week when Fed head Jerome Powell stated that the Fed must maintain high-interest rates "for some time" in order to slow the economy. The main question for many investors is the amount and timing of the next increase.

The Labor Department announced on Tuesday that there were two jobs for every unemployed person in July, bolstering the case for rate hikes by Federal Reserve officials. Last week's decline in unemployment claims was published on Thursday as more evidence of a robust labor market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a final value of 31,656.4, up 0.5%. The Nasdaq fell 0.3% to 11,785.13, marking its fifth consecutive decline.

Healthcare equities, companies reliant on direct consumer spending, and providers of communications services rose. The stock of Johnson & Johnson increased by 2.5%. Target increased by 2.8% while Netflix grew by 2.8%.

Technology Shares fell.

Nvidia fell 7.7% after the chip manufacturer said that U.S. government licensing regulations could impede shipments to China.

During electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of benchmark U.S. crude jumped $1.65 per barrel to $88.26. On Thursday, the contract dropped $2.94 to $86.61.

Brent crude, the price benchmark for international oil transactions, increased by $1.64 per barrel to $94 in London. In the previous session, it fell $3.28 to $92.36 per barrel.

The dollar increased to 140.32 yen from 140.23 yen on Thursday. The euro rose from 99.45 cents to 99.60 cents.