Asian stocks on the back foot ahead of NFP

The Asian stock markets are seen trading range-bound to lower so far this Friday, tracking negative close on the Wall Street overnight as well as the Chinese yuan moves, which dominates Asia for the second day in a row.

The Japanese stocks failed to take advantage from a profit-taking slide in the yen against the greenback, and extended losses amid a sell-off in the auto sector stocks following a tweet by President-elect Donald Trump directed at Toyota. Shares of Toyota fell over 2%.

While a stronger Yuan amid reports of PBOC intervention, weighed on the sentiment around the Chinese stocks, leaving them largely subdued in today’s trade. The Australian stocks also followed suit and traded little changed, as investors remained unimpressed by upbeat Aus trade balance figures.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index drops -0.45% to 19,435. The Australian benchmark, ASX 200 index trades modestly lower around 5,750 points. Mainland Chinese markets trade mixed, with the Shanghai composite up +0.10%, while Shenzhen’s CSI 300 index drops -0.10%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advances +0.45% as overnight Hibor rates hit 105%.