Shares in Asia gain ahead of U.S. jobs report, market eyes Greek drama

Investing.com - Shares in Asia rose on Friday despite continued concerns about Greece and ahead of the key U.S. non-farm payrolls report for January later in the session and after mixed views on the economy in Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.31%, while the Nikkei 225 was up 0.74% and the Shanghai Composite added 1.14%.

Traders now looked ahead to the release of the latest U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday, for further indications on the strength of the recovery in the labor market.

Market analysts expect the data to show that the U.S. economy added 234,000 jobs in January, slowing from a gain of 252,000 in December, while the unemployment rate was forecast to hold steady at 5.6%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia Friday eased the outlook for inflation while leaving clues to its next policy moves deliberately vague.

The quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy also assumed a lower path for the cash rate and took into account the fall in the Australian dollar, but still led to a downgrade in its growth forecast. The inflation view eased to 1.25% for headline CPI by June 2015 from an earlier range in November of 1.50% to 2.50% - and well below the mid-point aim of the 2% to 3% target.

The forecasts also assumed the cash rate moves broadly in line with market pricing but the RBA cautioned that doing this "doesn't represent a commitment by the board to any particular path for policy." The last time the RBA used market pricing in its cash rate assumption forecast was in May 2011.

Earlier, Australia's AiGroup's construction index for January showed a gain of 1.5 points to 45.9.

In Japan, at 1400 (0500 GMT), the preliminary indices of leading coincident and lagging indicators are due. The coincident composite index (CI), which reflects current business conditions, is expected to post the first rise in two months.

Overnight, the dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, despite upbeat U.S. jobless claims data as market sentiment remained broadly supported.

News on Greece's efforts to renegotiate its standing with creditors also continued to roil the markets with eyes now on short-term funding that would allow more time for talks.

Greece’s government is seeking debt relief on its current €240 billion bailout, which has fuelled fears over a clash with its creditors that could bring about its eventual exit from the euro zone. Athens main stock index plunged on Thursday, while the yield on Greek 10-Year bonds rose sharply to hover just below the 11%-level.

U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Health Care and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.20%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 1.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.03%.