Investing.com– Most Asian stocks fell on Friday ahead of key U.S. jobs data, mirroring overnight losses on Wall Street, while South Korean shares plunged amid an ongoing political crisis.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended lower on Thursday, after hitting record high close in the precious session. U.S. Index futures were slightly lower in Asia hours on Friday.
Focus was on key U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, due later in the day, for more clarity on the interest rates outlook. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates in December, but its long-term plans for easing are uncertain.
S.Korean shares pressured by political jitters
South Korea’s KOSPI index slumped as much as 1.6% on Friday, after dropping nearly 1% in the previous session. The index saw increased volatility and sharp falls this week after country’s President Yoon Suk-Yeol abruptly revoked an imposition of martial law on Wednesday amid public and political backlash.
The leader of South Korea’s ruling party Han Dong-hoon said on Friday that the president must be removed from power to protect the nation, citing the attempt to impose martial law.
Other regional markets, including the Philippine’s PSEi Composite, and Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Singapore index dropped 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%, and TOPIX declined 0.7%, while Malaysia’s FTSE Malaysia KLCI index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 were down 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
In contrast, Chinese stocks surged ahead on stimulus hopes ahead of a key Chinese economic meeting next week. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.9%, while the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index climbed 1.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 1.2%.
