Asian shares subdued, nerves frayed ahead of US jobs

Sydney: Asian markets steadied on Friday as Japanese shares recouped early losses, though investors were pensive ahead of jobs data that could make or break the case for an imminent scaling back in US stimulus.



Defying a soft finish on Wall Street, Tokyo’s Nikkei edged up 0.2 percent in morning trading, recouping a little of the 3.6 percent loss suffered in the previous two sessions.



Dealers said offshore investors remained buyers of exchange-traded funds and index heavyweights such as Softbank in the firm belief the Nikkei are on a sustained uptrend given the determination of the Bank of Japan to beat deflation.



The same reasoning led to fresh selling of yen which nudged the dollar back up to 101.90 yen after a couple of days of decline. Shares across the region seemed to take some heart and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan turned flat after an early dip.



Source: Reuters