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Hong Kong - Asian markets were mixed in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, with Tokyo rising despite more weak growth data and a pick-up in the yen, while the pound hit a 10-month low against the dollar on fears over Scottish independence.
The disappointing data out of Washington on Friday dampened the prospects of an early Federal Reserve interest rate hike, which in turn helped the S&P 500 to another record.
Tokyo added 0.23% to 15 705.11 by the close but Sydney eased 0.39% to 5 577.0.
Hong Kong slipped 0.20% to 25 190.45 following a mixed bag of trade data out of China that pointed to ongoing softness in the mainland economy.
Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei were closed for public holidays.
The Labour Department said onFriday the US added 142 000 new jobs in August, snapping a six-month streak of more than 200 000 jobs a month and far below the 223 000 tipped by analysts.
READ: US employment growth smallest in eight months
While the news shows the economy is still finding its feet, it will ease pressure on the Fed, which has faced growing calls to hike interest rates this year following a string of upbeat figures.
The S&P 500 rose 0.50% to a record close, the Dow put on 0.40% to narrowly miss an all-time high and the Nasdaq gained 0.45%.
"US markets perceive data with optimism. Even the bad jobs figures have been interpreted as a likely sign that the Fed won't speed up its stimulus tapering programme any time soon," said SMBC Friend Securities strategist Toshihiko Matsuno.
With the prospect of US rates remaining at record lows until late next year, traders edged out of the dollar, although a fresh round of weak Japanese growth figures kept it from sinking against the yen.
The dollar bought ¥105.11 in Tokyo on Monday, against ¥105.06 in New York. It is well off the ¥105.33 in early Tokyo trade on Friday.
The euro bought $1.2935 and ¥135.98 against $1.2951 and ¥136.14 in New York.
The British pound bought $1.6208, its weakest since November and well down from $1.6323 in New York on Friday, after a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times showed for the first time more people in Scotland could vote for independence from the United Kingdom than against.
The opinion poll has given a jolt to investors who had not envisaged a victory for the "Yes" campaign and so had not priced in the effects of a break-up of the UK.
READ: Sterling under pressure from Scottish vote
In Asia, China said its trade surplus surged 77.8% to a record $49.8bn in August as exports rose while imports showed a surprise decline.
The results came on the heels of data showing softness in China's economy during the current third quarter, with economists expecting Beijing to take further steps to boost growth.
Japan said on Monday that its economy shrank 1.8% on-quarter in April to June, worse than the previously estimated contraction of 1.7%.
"The poor GDP revision ... leads expectations for more Bank of Japan assistance to keep the economy going," Matsuno told Dow Jones Newswires.
"At any rate, the currency market is not being adversely affected by normally depressing news, and thus the impact on the Nikkei is minimal."
Official China data showed imports fell again in August and export growth slowed, while the country posted a record trade surplus
The news will do little to ease worries about the economy after a recent batch of disappointing data as a series of mini-stimulus measures have failed to kickstart growth.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell 25 cents to $93.04 while Brent crude for October lost 46c to $100.31 in afternoon trade.
Gold was at $1 265.51 an ounce, against $1 265.46 late on Friday.
In other markets:
- Singapore closed down 0.20% to 3 335.19.
Real estate developer Capitaland fell 0.89% to Sg$3.33 while United Overseas Bank rose 0.53% to Sg$22.85.
- Kuala Lumpur rose 2.63 points to 1 871.09.
Utility Tenaga Nasional gained 1.6% to 12.46 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia added 0.3% to 6.35. Malayan Banking lost 0.2% to 10.12 ringgit.
Bangkok was little changed, edging up 0.03% to 1 584.77.
- Siam Cement gained 3.12% to 462.00 baht, while hospital operator Bangkok Dusit Medical Services lost 2.58% to 18.90 baht.
- Jakarta climbed 0.56% to 5 246.48.
Bank Negara Indonesia rose 1.78% to 5 725 rupiah, while state miner Aneka Tambang fell 1.26% to 1 180 rupiah.
- Wellington rose 0.15% to end at 5 261.75.
Spark finished 0.98% higher at NZ$3.10 and Contact Energy was off 0.18% to NZ$5.56.
- Manila gained 0.71% to 7 314.94.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.23% to 3 430 pesos while Alliance Global was unchanged at 25.80 pesos.
- Mumbai advanced 1.08% to end at 27 319.85.
Torrent Power jumped 14.87% to 161.80 rupees, while tyre maker MRF rose 8.92% to 29 586.40 rupees.
