BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday ahead of a United States job market update that traders hope might encourage the Federal Reserve to ease off plans for more interest rate hikes.
Shanghai and Seoul rose while Tokyo declined. Markets in Hong Kong, India and Australia were closed for a holiday.
Traders who worry higher interest rates might tip the global economy into recession looked ahead to U.S. government data that are expected to show the job market is cooling. They hope that might prompt the Fed to decide aggressive rate hikes are no longer needed to extinguish inflation.
Other data have “confirmed a clear trend that a labor market slowdown has begun,” said Edward Moya of Oanda in a report.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4% to 3,324.39 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost less than 0.1% to 27,466.88.
The Kospi in Seoul rose 1.3% to 2,490.37. Bangkok also…
