Asian markets traded mixed early on Friday, amid lower oil prices and caution ahead of all-important US June non-farm payrolls data. The S&P/ASX 200 was flat after initially opening lower, weighed by its energy subindex, which was down 0.3 %. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.25 % while across the Korean strait, the Kospi was lower by 0.18 %.
Chinese mainland markets were lower, with the Shanghai composite down 0.55% and the Shenzhen composite slipping 0.1 %.
US crude prices dropped 4.83% to USD 45.14 a barrel on Thursday after an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed stockpiles fell 2.2 million barrels in the week to July 1, far less than the 6.7 million barrel drawdown the American Petroleum Institute reported on the previous day.
The British pound traded at USD 1.2923 as of 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Friday. The pound had dropped to a 31-year low of USD 1.2796 on Wednesday amid uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote.
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