Asian stocks defend gains ahead of NFP, China services PMI weigh

The Asian stocks staged a minor pullback on the final trading day of this week, snapping two back-to-back days of declines, as markets look to unwind their positions ahead of the highly influential US labour market report, which may bolster the case for a June/ July Fed rate hike.

Further, the sentiment also took a beating after China’s services PMI reading came in well below estimates and re-ignited worries over the health of the Chinese economy. Caixin Chain Services PMI for May came in at 51.2 versus 51.8 last and 52.0 expectations. While renewed selling interest seen around the oil prices, weigh down on the energy stocks and hence, keep a lid on the upside in the region’s indices.

China services PMI caps the upside

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 now trades +0.17% and hovers around 16,590 levels as USD/JPY trades almost unchanged at 108.86. Australia’s ASX 200 index lead the Asian markets recovery and rises +0.67% to 5,313 levels.

While the Chinese equities trade mixed, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index now dropping -0.18% to 2,920, the CSI300 index trades muted around 3,170 points. Hong Kong Hang Seng gains 0.41%.