The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) declined 0.1 percent to 138.35 as of 9:00 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets open in Hong Kong. The gauge is down 2.6 percent this week, on course for the biggest weekly drop in six months. The measure has retreated 7.4 percent from a six-year high in July.
Japan’s Topix index slipped 0.1 percent as the yen traded at 108.46 per dollar. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.2 percent. Markets in South Korea, India and China are closed.
As investors assess the health of the U.S. economy, analysts are predicting a return to gains of more than 200,000 in nonfarm payrolls. The Federal Reserve, which is on track to announce the end of its bond-buying program this month, is assessing whether the recovery in the world’s largest economy is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates.
U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end pretty much flat on Thursday, with the S&P 500 .SPX just a shade firmer at 1,946.17.
Global equities have largely been on the back foot in recent weeks, hit by geopolitical tensions involving Ukraine and Hong Kong, concerns about global growth and expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will tighten rates sooner than expected.
Investors were keeping a wary eye on developments in Hong Kong, whose leader Leung Chun-ying defied pro-democracy protesters' demands to step down by Friday.