Overseas Trading: Global Stocks Mixed Ahead of Jobs Friday

Global stocks are mixed ahead of Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report

Mar 3, 2016 at 8:42 AM

Stocks in Asia finished the day mostly higher, despite an overnight retreat in oil prices. Japan's Nikkei added 1.3% as weakness in the yen boosted exporters, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.4%, despite data indicating growth in the service sector softened last month. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6% after a larger-than-expected gain in annual inflation. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng bucked the trend, dropping 0.3%.

Meanwhile, European stocks are mostly in the red at midday, as traders exercise caution ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report. London's FTSE 100 was last seen just below breakeven, after Markit's purchasing managers index (PMI) for the U.K. hit a near three-year low, while France's CAC 40 is off 0.4%, and the German DAX has shed 0.3%.

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