Hang Seng, CSI 300 lead Asian market gains on Thursday, Nikkei in red

Asian stock markets are trading largely higher on Friday, reflecting mixed signals from Wall Street overnight.

Investors are staying cautious ahead of the release of the closely watched US jobs report, which is expected to provide guidance on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.

Traders are also awaiting US President Donald Trump’s potential announcements on trade curbs ahead of China’s tariff deadline next week.

Japan's Nikkei halts winning streak

The Japanese stock market is trading lower on Friday, giving up gains from the previous session.

The Nikkei 225 Index has slipped 0.50% to 38,870.64 during the morning session, with losses across major sectors, including financials and exporters.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is down nearly 2%, while automakers Toyota and Honda have shed more than 2% and 1%, respectively.

In the tech sector, Tokyo Electron has declined nearly 4%, while Advantest has gained over 2%.

Economic data released on Friday showed household spending in Japan rose 2.3% month-on-month in December, exceeding expectations of a 0.5% decline and building on November's 0.4% increase.

Hong Kong and China stocks soar higher

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has advanced over 1% to 21,189.19 in morning trade, driven by gains in technology shares.

The Hang Seng Tech Index is up close to 3%, with companies such as Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Geely Automobile among the top gainers, rising 8%, 5.6%, and 3%, respectively.

Electric vehicle makers BYD and Li Auto have also posted strong gains, climbing 5% and 6%.

Mainland Chinese markets are trading higher, with the CSI 300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index both strongly over 1%.

Analysts from HSBC noted that China’s stock market has yet to fully reflect its increasing innovation capabilities.

They expect this recognition to drive valuation gains and attract foreign fund inflows, narrowing the gap with other emerging markets.

Other regional markets

The Australian stock market is trading slightly lower on Friday in a choppy session, snapping a three-day winning streak.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down 0.070% at 8,514.70, despite trading briefly in positive territory earlier.

South Korean shares declined on Friday. However, the market was on track to end the week with overall gains.

The benchmark KOSPI fell 4.21 points, or 0.37%, to 2,527.41. Despite the dip, the index was up 0.6% for the week, marking its largest weekly gain since early January.

Wall Street jittery on Thursday

US stocks exhibited a lack of clear direction on Thursday, with the major averages fluctuating around the unchanged line before closing mixed.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 managed to end the day with gains, marking their third consecutive session of growth.

The Nasdaq rose 99.66 points, or 0.5%, to close at 19,791.99, while the S&P 500 advanced 22.09 points, or 0.4%, to 6,083.57. However, the Dow slipped 125.65 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 44,747.63.

The indecisive trading came as investors appeared hesitant to make bold moves ahead of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, due on Friday.

The report is expected to reveal an increase of 170,000 jobs in January, following a gain of 256,000 jobs in December, and could influence the trajectory of interest rates.

Aseparate Labor Department report released Thursday showed an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims.

Initial unemployment claims increased by 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ending February 1, compared to the previous week’s revised figure of 208,000.