Beijing, Sept. 2 (BNA): Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday ahead of US jobs data that may boost the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates further to cool high inflation.
Shanghai advanced while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul retreated. Oil prices rose more than $1.50 a barrel, according to the Associated Press.
Investors are looking to US August employment data to see how the economy is responding to four previous hikes to calm inflation that has reached its highest levels in four decades.
The strong reading will give ammunition to Fed officials who say higher interest rates are necessary to slow economic activity and reduce upward pressure on consumer prices.
If the numbers show more than 300,000 jobs being added, IG’s Yeap Jun Rong said in a report, that would likely boost further bias towards a 0.75 percentage point rate hike at this month’s Fed meeting. That would be three times the Fed’s usual change margin.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that unemployment claims fell last week in another sign of the labor market’s strength. It said earlier this week that there were two jobs for every unemployed person in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.5% higher at 3,1656.42. The Nasdaq fell 0.3 percent to 11,785.13, its fifth daily drop.
Healthcare stocks, companies that rely on direct consumer spending, and telecom service providers gained. Johnson & Johnson shares rose 2.5 percent. Target gained 2.8% and Netflix increased 2.9%. Technology stocks are down.
In energy markets, the price of US crude rose $1.42 to $88.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract fell $2.94 to $86.61 on Thursday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trade, rose $1.50 to $93.86 a barrel in London. It fell $3.28 in the previous session to $92.36 a barrel.
The dollar rose to 140.34 yen from 140.23 yen on Thursday. The euro rose to 99.72 cents from 99.45 cents.
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