Sunset scene of light trails traffic speeds through an intersection in Gangnam center business district of Seoul at Seoul city, South Korea
Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, after private sector hiring in the U.S. hit its lowest level in over two years, raising concerns that trade policy uncertainty could be weighing on the world’s largest economy.
A report from payrolls processing firm ADP showed that payrolls rose only 37,000 for the month, less than the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and below the consensus forecast of 110,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast.
South Korean markets extended gains from the previous session, with the benchmark Kospi advancing 1.72%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.12%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 moved down 0.12%, while the broader Topix index lost 0.64%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.84% while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat.
Investors will be keeping a close watch on Indian markets as the Reserve Bank of India starts its two-day policy meet, with markets expecting the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 5.75% on Friday.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.