Asian Stock Market: Trades mixed amid cautious tone, Chinese PMI drops

• Asian stocks trade mixed on Friday following the gains on Wall Street.
• Japan’s political jitters, downbeat Chinese PMI data weighs on the market sentiment.
• US Dollar Index continues to trade lower ahead of the critical US NFP data.

Most of the Asia-pacific stocks trade mixed on Friday while Wall Street ended the previous session on a higher note.

Investors turn cautious after dismal Chinese economic data, which raises concerns about China’s slowing economic growth and regulatory changes.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-pacific shares outside Japan remained broadly flat in the early Asian trading hours.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.38%, rising for the fifth consecutive session on the news of a potential new stimulus this year. In the latest update, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided not to run in the leadership race in the September election.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.15% after a private survey showed China’s services sector shrank for the first time in 20 months.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.1%, South  Korea’s Kospi traded up 0.61%.

The ASX 200 gained 0.49%, despite Retails sales drop by 2.7% in July and Private sector PMI came lower at 43.3 in August compared to July’s 45.2.
    
The US Dollar Index (DXY) trades below 92.50 with 0.05% losses ahead of the critical US Nonfarm payrolls data.