Asian markets eased amid US-China trade talks

Asian stock markets were mostly down on Friday, with participants closely monitoring US-China trade talks developments, while awaiting key employment data later in the session.

Nippon markets remained closed in observance of a national holiday.

On the data front, China’s Caixin services PMI for April came in at 52.9 points, above a forecasted 52.2 points reading and a previous 52.3 points.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite eased 0.32 percent to close at 3091.03, while the Shenzhen Composite dropped equally to 10424.94.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.10 percent by the time of this writing, with financial components pushing the benchmark to red territory.

In Australia, financials also weighed on the ASX 200, taking it down 0.58 percent to 6062.90.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi index traded 1.04 percent lower, with automakers and heavyweight tech names losing more than one and a half percent.

Investors are expecting developments from US-China trade talks taking place in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and other officials gathered with their Chinese counterparts to evaluate possible ways out to the current situation.

Mnuchin said conversations were “very good”, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "The outcome should be mutually beneficial and win-win."

President Donald Trump tweeted: "Our great financial team is in China trying to negotiate a level playing field on trade! I look forward to being with President Xi in the not too distant future. We will always have a good (great) relationship!"

On the corporate front, HSBC reported a 4 percent reduction in profit before tax for its Q1 earnings. The bank said revenue rose to $13.71 billion from $12.993 billion a year ago.

Ahead in today’s session, investors will be looking at average hourly earnings, nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate as of 12:30 GMT.

FortFS