Asian shares mixed, focus moves to US jobs data

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed Friday following another weak lead from Wall Street as investors await the release of key US jobs data, while Shanghai eased after China said its trade surplus shrank in December.

The euro edged back up against the dollar and yen after a brief fall on Thursday fuelled by a warning from the head of the European Central Bank that the eurozone economy remained fragile.

Tokyo rebounded from earlier losses thanks to a pick-up in the dollar against the yen. The Nikkei ended 0.20 percent, or 31.73 points, higher at 15,912.06 and Hong Kong closed up 0.26 percent, or 58.92 points, to 22,846.25.However, Seoul finished down 0.39 percent, shedding 7.57 points to 1,938.54 and Sydney eased 0.23 percent, or 12.0 points, to 5,312.4.Shanghai fell 0.71 percent, or 14.32 points, to 2,013.30.With the US Federal Reserve holding its next policy meeting at the end of the month, investors are closely monitoring Friday´s jobs data to see if it will give the central bank more ammunition to further cut its stimulus.

The Fed´s most recent meeting saw it reduce its bond-buying scheme by $10 billion a month to $75 billion from January, citing a pick-up in the world´s number-one economy.

On Wall Street, the three main indexes ended mostly lower, with disappointing earnings from retailers adding some downward pressure.