Asian Shares Mixed Ahead Of US Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as U.S. tech giants reported disappointing earnings and investors awaited key U.S. jobs data later in the day for additional clues on the health of the world's economy and rate outlook.

The dollar traded firm after both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) hiked their rates by 50 basis points, and U.S. tech giants Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Amazon all reported lackluster financial results late on Thursday.

Chinese shares fell even a private survey showed services sector activity in the country expanded for the first time in five months in January.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.68 percent to 3,263.41 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.36 percent to 21,660.47.

Japanese shares eked out modest gains to close at a seven-week high after a survey showed activity in the country's services sector grew at its fastest pace in three months in January.

The Nikkei average rose 0.39 percent to 27,509.46, marking its highest close since December 16. The broader Topix index ended 0.26 percent higher at 1,970.26.

Sony Group shares soared 6.2 percent after the company raised its operating profit forecast, citing strong results in its key gaming sector. ANA Holdings added 1.7 percent after it swung back to a half-year profit.

Z Holdings jumped 12 percent after announcing a merger with a messaging app company Line Corp and internet firm Yahoo Japan. Panasonic Holdings lost 3.1 percent after cutting its full-year outlook.

Seoul stocks ended higher for a third day running on robust foreign buying. The Kospi average settled 0.47 percent higher at 2,480.40. Internet portal operator Naver climbed 5.7 percent despite reporting weak fourth-quarter earnings.

Australian markets finished notably higher to mark their fifth straight weekly gain as investors awaited a slew of corporate earnings and the outcome of next week's RBA meeting.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.62 percent to 7,558.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.56 percent higher at 7,771.80.

Banks and energy stocks rose, offsetting weakness in the mining sector. Gold miners slumped as a stronger dollar impacted bullion prices. Newcrest, Northern Star Resources and Regis Resources gave up 3-7 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index rose 0.37 percent to 12,197.15.

U.S. markets ended broadly higher overnight, as lower Treasury yields on the back of dovish comments from Fed Chair Powell and upbeat earnings from Facebook parent Meta Platforms boosted tech stocks.

In economic releases, a surprise decline in weekly jobless claims, increased productivity in the fourth quarter and higher unit labor costs raised cautious optimism that the economy could skirt a recession.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite soared 3.3 percent to reach a near five-month closing high and the S&P 500 jumped 1.5 percent while the Dow edged down 0.1 percent.