Stocks trade mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report

Asia-Pacific shares were mixed on Friday as investors look ahead to the U.S. jobs report for August, a key indicator before the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision later this month.

South Korea’s consumer price index rose slower than expected — 5.7% in August from the same period a year ago, less than the 6.1% predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan was flat, while the Topix index was down 0.24%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.62% and the Hang Seng Tech index dropped nearly 1%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 recovered from earlier losses to rise slightly.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.28% and the Shenzhen Component traded 0.231% higher. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.26% and the Kosdaq advanced 0.2%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.32% lower.

Economists predict that 318,000 jobs were added in August, fewer than the 528,000 jobs added in July, according to Dow Jones. Unemployment is forecast to be unchanged at 3.5%.

“All focus today is on Payrolls later tonight where the [whisper] number is for a stronger than expected print, which would add to the argument for a 75bp hike in September,” Tapas Strickland, an economist at the National Australia Bank, wrote in a note Friday.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.99 points, around 0.5%, to 31,656.42. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to 3,966.85, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped about 0.3%, to 11,785.13.

— CNBC’s Patti Domm, Sarah Min and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.