Asian markets nervous before jobs data, Easter break (AP) (31-03-2010)

HONG KONG (AP) – After the previous session’s gains, most Asian stock markets were trading lower on Wednesday with investors unwilling to buy before the U.S. jobs report on Friday and the Easter long weekend.

A modest advance on Wall Street overnight did little to help Asia. The mood in the U.S. was upbeat after a report showed consumer confidence surged in Marc, but was not all that good, showing many consumers were still hesitant to splurge on cars and other big purchases, analysts said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 34.85, or 0.2 percent, at 21,339.94, and South Korea's index fell less than 0.5 percent to 1,692.47. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average was up 6.55 points, or less than 0.1 percent, at 11,103.69. Wednesday also marks the last day of Japan's fiscal calendar year.

Elsewhere, Australia's benchmark dropped 0.8 percent and China's Shanghai index was off 0.5 percent. Markets in India, Taiwan and Singapore also fell.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was down 9 cents at $82.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 20 cents to settle at $82.37 on Tuesday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 93.21 yen from 92.82 yen late Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.3404 from $1.3414.

Source: AP