Asian stocks higher ahead of U.S. jobs data
BEIJING - Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday following gains on Wall Street while major European markets were closed as investors awaited American jobs data.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 percent to 19,435.08 and Seoul's Kospi rose 0.8 percent to 2,045.42. The Shanghai Composite added 1 percent to 3,863.93 while Thailand's benchmark was down 0.1 percent at 1,531.34. Markets were closed for holidays in Germany, France, Britain, Hong Kong, India, Australia and in several Southeast Asian countries. Nymex oil trading was also closed. Futures pointed to gains on Wall Street. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2 percent to 2,063.20.
Analysts expect U.S. data Friday to show employers added 248,000 jobs last month, according to FactSet. That would be the 13th straight month of gains in excess of 200,000 and the longest such stretch in 20 years, according to High-Frequency Economics. Employers added 295,000 jobs in February. On Thursday, the Commerce Department said applications for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week despite signs of weak economic growth.
"The arithmetic points to a continued rapid downtrend in unemployment," said Jim O'Sullivan of High Frequency Economics in a report. "We expect more acceleration in wage measures in the months and quarters ahead."
Major U.S. stock indexes rebounded Thursday from a two-day slide as investors looked ahead to the start of the next round of corporate earnings next week. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 65.06 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,763.24. The S&P 500 index rose 7.27 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,066.96. The Nasdaq composite added 6.71 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,886.94.
The dollar declined to 119.68 yen from 119.75 yen in the previous trading session. The euro rose to $1.0881 from $1.0872.