Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong fall nearly 2%; oil prices muted as investors await OPEC+ meeting

Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in Friday trade as investors look ahead to a closely-watched U.S. jobs report set to be released later. Mainland Chinese stocks were among the biggest losers regionally as the Shanghai composite fell around 1.6% while the Shenzhen component dropped 1.856%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.6%. Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan nudged 0.23% higher while the Topix index gained 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed about 0.1%.

Shares in Australia rose as the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.44%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.82%. Investor focus on Friday was likely on the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, set to be out on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls grew by 706,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Dow Jones.

Oil prices were little changed in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures below the flatline as they traded at $75.82 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures hovered above the flatline at $75.26 per barrel. U.S. crude futures on Thursday hit their highest level since October 2018, while Brent jumped 2%. The moves came as a meeting among OPEC and its allies, an energy alliance often called OPEC+, was delayed to Friday. The delay came after the United Arab Emirates objected to a new oil deal, Reuters reported Thursday, citing OPEC+ sources.

Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong fall nearly 2%; oil prices muted as investors await OPEC+ meeting, CNBC, Jul 2