Investing.com - Shares in Asia fell on Friday with sentiment linked to U.S. nonfarm payrolls later in the day and elections in France at the weekend.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.40% offset by Macquarie Bank's 3.58% jump after the bank's full-year profit beat expectations. Australia's resources shares extended losses. Miner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) fell 1.56% and oil firms Santos dropped 2.47% and Woodside was down 2.13%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index eased 0.26% and on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.33%.
Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for the Children's Day holiday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed flat on Thursday, after the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare while energy stocks slumped to lows after oil prices hit a five-month low.
The House passed the bill, which would replace Obamacare subsidies with a system of tax credits, by a vote of 217 to 213. The bill is widely expected to face intense scrutiny in the Senate.
Meanwhile, energy stocks were the main laggards of the days, after crude prices hit a five-month low on the back of concerns of a glut in supply.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery lost 4.81% to settle at $45.52 a barrel.
But gains in Financials, mostly banks, capped losses, as sentiment shifted towards financials, following an uptick in expectations of a June rate hike.
According to investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool nearly 70% of traders expect the Fed to hike interest rates in June, compared to about 60% the previous week.
On the economic data front, investors mulled over mixed U.S. economic data, after initial jobless claims fell more than expected while factory orders eased in March.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims decreased by 19,000 to 238,000 in the week ended April 29, well below economists’ estimates.