Sawt Falasteen - Asian stocks mixed ahead of US jobs, Supreme Court ruling

A Beijing report on rising Chinese consumer prices and Chinese AI startup MiniMax's soaring market debut in Hong Kong provided a boost to Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks.

Equities have largely enjoyed a solid start to the new year, with Seoul hitting several record highs this week, thanks to optimism over the tech sector and earnings.

But focus is now on the outlook for US interest rates, with closely watched non-farm payrolls figures due out later in the day. Traders will be poring over the figures as they could play a key role in the Federal Reserve's decision-making leading up to its next policy meeting at the end of the month.

The central bank indicated last month that its next move could be a pause -- after three successive cuts -- though analysts said that a big downside miss could revive talk of another reduction. A much bigger gain than expected could also deal a blow to such hopes.

Still, Matt Weller at City Index said: "Traders have relatively high confidence that the Federal Reserve will pause its rate cutting cycle this month, and only a dramatic deterioration in the labour market (such as an outright decline in jobs or unemployment rising to 4.7 percent) could shake that confidence.

"As a result, the market reaction to the release could be relatively limited."

Wall Street ended Thursday on a mixed note, with observers pointing out signs traders were shifting their positions from tech -- which led last year's rally to multiple records -- and into smaller cap firms.

But Asia enjoyed a more positive run.

Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Manila all rose, though there were losses in Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta.

Hong Kong and Shanghai were helped by figures showing Chinese inflation rose more than expected last month and extended a period of growth following months of deflationary pressure.

The 0.8 percent increase in consumer prices marks the fastest pace since February 2023, though analysts pointed out that the increase was mainly down to food costs, masking broader weaknesses.

Chinese AI startup MiniMax soared as much as 78 percent on its Hong Kong debut, a day after rival Zhipu AI's enjoyed its own strong first day, in a sign that healthy investor demand is rewarding the country's rapidly developing sector.

Sydney was marginally lower, with Australian-British mining giant Rio Tinto falling more than six percent after it confirmed merger with Swiss rival Glencore.

The US Supreme Court's possible ruling on the legality of many of Trump's punishing tariffs is also keeping investors occupied.

A ruling against the government could have a huge impact on its economic and fiscal plans.

Oil prices gained around one percent, having rallied more than three percent Thursday, after Trump threatened to hit Iran "very hard" if it killed protesters amid mounting civil unrest over an economic crisis.

The gains reversed losses earlier in the week that came after the president said Venezuela would ship millions of barrels to the United States following the toppling of the South American country's leader at the weekend.

- Key figures at around 0700 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 51,939.89 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 26,223.17

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 4,120.43 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1649 from $1.1652 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3429 from $1.3432

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.40 yen from 157.16 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.77 pence from 86.75 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $58.34 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $62.64 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,266.11 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,044.69 (close)

A.Suleiman--SF-PST