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HONG KONG: Asian stocks edged higher Friday as dealers followed a third straight rise on Wall Street, but gains were limited by unease ahead of much-anticipated US jobs data.
Optimism over the US economy was boosted Thursday after a fresh batch of upbeat figures on housing, benefits and factory orders suggested the outlook was not as bad as expected.
Tokyo was up 0.38 per cent by the break, while Hong Kong rose 0.12 per cent, Shanghai was up 0.10 per cent and Seoul added 0.11 per cent. Sydney was flat.
Investors were following a 0.49 per cent gain on the Dow after the Labour Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell faster than expected last week, extending a two-week decline.
Claims for the week to August 28 fell to 472,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000, beating most economists' expectations of 475,000 new claims.
The news came as National Association of Realtors reported pending home sales rose 5.2 per cent in July, promising a much-needed boost to the housing market. Another report showed orders to US factories rose 0.1 per cent in July, the first increase after two months of declines.
"It's been a strong week, ahead of US payrolls data and the US long weekend," IG Markets Strategist, Ben Potter, told Dow Jones Newswires in Sydney.
"I think people are too pessimistic and evidence is pointing toward a soft patch in the U.S. recovery, rather than a double dip."
However, caution permeated trade as dealers awaited the release later Friday of US non-farm payroll figures -- combining government and private jobs -- which are expected to show unemployment rising.
The yen continued to cap Tokyo's gains, however.
The dollar, which hit a 15-year low against the yen last week, fetched 84.31 yen in Tokyo morning trade, unchanged from New York late Thursday.
The euro edged down to 1.2811 dollars from 1.2821 dollars after firming overnight on the European Central Bank's decision to hike the region's growth and inflation forecasts for 2010 and 2011. The euro was flat at 108.07 yen.
"Gains may be limited since the yen's strength, which is our biggest concern, shows no signs of receding," Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets, said.
"We'd like to see how the dollar moves against the yen after US jobs data later today," he said.
Meanwhile, the Thai baht bought 31.06 dollars, hovering at two-year highs, while Bangkok ordered the central bank to monitor the unit and "prepare measures" after it climbed about 5.00-6.00 per cent this year.
Oil was lower. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, fell 26 cents to 74.76 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery, shed 35 cents to 76.58 dollars.
Gold opened at 1,250.50-1,251.50 dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Thursday's closing price of 1,247.50-1,248.50 dollars.
-AFP/wk
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