Asian markets fall after US jobs, China trade data

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets fell Monday as a weaker-than-expected US jobs report late last week sent Wall Street lower and following the release of robust Chinese trade data ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington next week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.2 percent to 23,649.45, while China's Shanghai Composite index was lower by 0.4 percent to 2,827.14. South Korea's benchmark Kospi fell 0.7 percent to 2,071.14, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was marginally down to 4,814. Indexes in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines were also down. Bucking the trend was the New Zealand exchange, up by 0.4 percent to 3,324.07. "The disappointing US jobs report, that's weighing on the market," said Mark Tan, who helps manage about $15 billion in equities and bonds at UOB Asset Management in Singapore. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 103,000 jobs in December, less than analysts expected. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell to 9.4 percent, down from 9.8 percent in November and the lowest rate in 19 months. The decline came partly because many people gave up looking for work. Prior data last week, including gains in service sector and private payrolls, pointing to a strengthening of the world's largest economy had raised hopes for a better employment number. Separately, China's December exports rose by double digits in December, gaining 17.9 percent, according to customs data released Monday. Though that was down from 34.9 percent in November, it still left China's trade surplus at $13.1 billion. "It shows that the economy is still doing well and not slowing down remarkably," Tan said. The United States has said China distorts global trade by keeping its currency, the yuan, artificially low, while Beijing has criticized the Federal Reserve's policy of purchasing $600 billion in government bonds as a way to weaken the dollar and give U.S. exporters an edge. China's Hu and President Barack Obama are scheduled to meet next week amid such economic tensions as well as policy differences over North Korea, which launched a deadly attack on a South Korean island in November. Beijing is Pyongyang's closest ally, while Washington has a military alliance with Seoul. Financial markets in Japan were closed Monday for a national holiday. The Nikkei 225 stock average, Asia's largest, rose Friday to a fresh eight-month high of 10,541.04. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.55 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,674.76 after the employment data. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.35, or 0.2 percent, to 1,271.50. The Nasdaq composite index fell 6.72, or 0.3 percent, to 2,703.17. In currencies, the dollar was trading at 83.10 yen from 83.03 yen Friday. The euro stood at $1.2904 from $1.2934. Benchmark oil for February delivery rose $1.35 to $89.38 a barrel midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 30 cents to settle at $88.03 in Friday. — AP