SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were flat Friday as China conducts military exercises around Taiwan.
On the economic front, investors are looking out for a Reserve Bank of Australia statement on monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision and a U.S. jobs report later in the day.
The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index in Japan were fractionally higher.
Japan Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Chinese missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone and called the military drills a “serious problem,” according to an NBC News report.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sat just below the flatline.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.52% and the Kosdaq gained 0.45%
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.19%.
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The RBA is set to release its statement on monetary policy Friday.
“Of particular interest will be the interest rate levels assumed in the forecasts. We suspect a cash rate of 3% will feature,” ANZ Research said in a note.
The Reserve Bank of India will announce its interest rate decision later as well.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 85.68 points, or 0.26%, to 32,726.82. The S&P 500 was about flat at 4,151.94 at the close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.41% to 12,720.58.
Friday’s jobs report is expected to show that 258,000 jobs were added in the U.S. last month, according to Dow Jones economist estimates. That’s fewer than the 372,000 added in June.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 105.724 after a recent drop from about 106.5.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 132.84 per dollar. The Australian dollar was at $0.6958, after a sharp fall from above $0.7 on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.35% to $88.23 per barrel, continuing its fall after shedding 2.3% in the previous session.
Brent crude futures dipped 0.38% to $93.76 per barrel after ending the Thursday session 2.75% lower at $94.12 a barrel. Both benchmarks touched their lowest levels in months.