Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebound breaks 3-day slump

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Friday after a rebound on Wall Street broke a three-day losing streak.

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Taipei and Sydney but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Investors were encouraged by the latest U.S. jobs data showing fewer Americans filing for unemployment benefits, another sign that the economic recovery is underway.

A preliminary survey of manufacturing sentiment in Japan, the purchasing managers index or PMI, showed a weakening in May from the month before. A similar trend was seen in services, which are most affected by precautions ordered recently to counter the country's worst-ever surge in coronavirus outbreaks. States of emergency have been declared in Tokyo and some other cities and regions, with more expected to follow.

“The plunge in the services PMI from 49.5 to 45.7 marked by far the largest drop since the first state of emergency last April and left the index at a nine-month low," Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

“It suggests that the more draconian measures imposed during the third state of emergency, including the closure of department stores, bars and restaurants, are weighing on activity."

Still, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.8% to 28,317.83. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 7,030.30. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was down less than 0.1% at 28,436.79, while the Kospi in Seoul declined 0.2% to 3,156.42. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6% to 3,486.37.

“Although Wall Street rallied strongly overnight, with the intra-day momentum tail-chasers continuing to rule the roost, Asia is decidedly more subdued as caution rather than exuberance rules," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 4,159.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...