Market Update
Asian markets traded in a narrow range Friday with investors' likely waiting for cues from the U.S. jobs report due later in the global trading day.
The Nikkei slipped into the red, ending 0.2% lower. The Shanghai Composite was closed while the Hang Seng gained 0.7%. The Sensex was up 0.2% while the All Ordinaries also edged up 0.2%.
Earlier today, data showed Japan's unemployment rate in March remained unchanged from February's 3.6%. Another report showed household spending was a surprise, increasing 7.2% in March from a year earlier and following a 2.5% drop in February.
In Australia, data showed producer price inflation rose more-than-expected in the last quarter to a seasonally adjusted 0.9% from 0.2% in the preceding quarter.
Stocks on the Move
Sony pared intra-day losses of over 2% and ended just half a percent lower. The company issued a profit warning for the third time in six months.
Panasonic fell 1.7% while Olympus dropped 1.1%.
NEC Corp. gained 1% while Fujitsu added 3.3%.
Murata Manufacturing gave up all of its gains of about 7% and closed in the red, down 1.5%. The company earlier reported a more-than-doubling of its full-year operating profit.
Bridgestone was up 0.4% after a Nikkei newspaper report said the company would likely report a record-high first-quarter profit.
AMong retailers, J. Front Retailing closed up 0.8% while Isetan Mitsukoshi picked up 2%. Takashimaya fell 1.1% and Seven & i Holdings declined 0.6%. All four retailers said a drop in sales in April wasn't as heavy as feared post the consumption tax hike that came into effect April 1.
In Hong Kong, three state-owned telecom companies issued warnings saying a new scheme to include them in an ongoing value-added tax trial program starting June 1 could affect near-term profitability. Consequeently, China Mobile fell 1.6% while China Unicom dropped 3%. China Unicom gave up 3.2%.
In Mumbai, Tata Power was the top gainer, up 2.8%, followed by ONGC, up 1.5%, and Infosys, up 1.4%.
ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, HDFC, and Wipro all added 1.2% each, respectively. ICICI Bank was up after four straight sessions of losses following disappointing results.
In Sydney, Macquarie Group shares were up just 0.9% after the company reported a jump of almost 50% in full-year net profit. The company issued a tepid outlook for the current year.
Westfield Group declined 0.4% after a downgrade.
Among the major miners, Index leader BHP Billiton fell 0.6% while Fortescue Metals gained 1.2%. Atlas Iron fell 2.9%.