Asian shares mostly fall on caution ahead of a key US employment report

TOKYO: Asian shares mostly declined Friday ahead of a highly anticipated US jobs report that's expected to influence how the US Federal Reserve will move on interest rates.

Trading was cautious in Asia amid lingering worries about a possible recession in the US The job market report, set for release later in the day, is key, possibly dictating how big of a cut to interest rates the Federal Reserve will deliver at its next meeting later this month.

After keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high to stifle inflation, the Fed has hinted it's about to begin cutting rates to keep the economy from sliding into a recession.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% to finish at 36,391.47. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 8,013.40, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.2% to 2,545.78. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.7% to 2,769.03. Trading was halted in Hong Kong because of a typhoon.

On Wall Street, most stocks fell Thursday following a mixed round of data on the economy. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% for a third straight drop, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 219 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq composite held up better than the rest of the market, adding 0.3% thanks to gains for Tesla and a handful of other Big Tech stocks.

Treasury yields also slipped a bit in the bond market following the mixed economic reports. One report suggested US companies slowed their hiring last month, falling short of forecasts, while another found fewer US workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected.

A separate report said growth for businesses in the finance, health care and other services industries was stronger last month than expected.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 3.73% from 3.76% late Wednesday. It's down from 4.70% in April, which is a significant move for the bond market.

The two-year Treasury yield was 3.74%, just above the 10-year yield.

Verizon's stock slipped 0.4% after it announced it is buying Frontier Communications in a $20 billion deal to strengthen its fibre network. Tesla rose 4.9% after laying out a roadmap for upcoming artificial intelligence developments, including the possibility of full self-driving in Europe and China.

All told, the S&P 500 dipped 16.66 points to 5,503.41. The Dow dropped 219.22 to 40,755.75, and the Nasdaq composite rose 43.36 to 17,127.66.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude rose 25 cents to $69.40 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 25 cents to $72.94 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar edged down to 142.36 Japanese yen from 143.40 yen, The euro cost $1.1120, up from $1.1112.

By RSS/AP