The Asian stock markets are looking at a mixed lead on Friday, although the movement is expected to be fairly limited either way ahead of key payroll data from the United States later in the day.
Traders are looking ahead to Friday's monthly employment report from the Labor Department. Economists expect employment to increase by about 150,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.5 percent.
Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Budget Committee that the U.S. economy is on the mend but is not yet ready to stand on its own two feet without help from the Fed.
The major averages closed on opposite sides of the unchanged line, with the Dow posting a modest loss. While the Dow edged down 11.05 points or 0.1 percent to 12,705.41, the NASDAQ rose 11.41 points or 0.4 percent to 2,859.68 and the S&P 500 inched up 1.45 points or 0.1 percent to 1,325.54.
The major European markets also moved higher on Thursday as the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index climbed 0.6 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday as Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2 percent, China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.96 percent, South Korea's KOSPI climbed 1.28 percent, Taiwan jumped 1.36 percent, Malaysia collected 1.03 percent and Singapore eased 0.13 percent.
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