Asian stocks mixed

HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, as gains on Wall Street drove trading in Tokyo but patchy US economic data fed wider uncertainty in the region.
The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday the US service sector expanded 4.3 percent in July to a record high, but payroll firm ADP estimated the US private sector added 185,000 jobs in July, below analysts´ estimate for 220,000 additional jobs.
Tokyo rose 0.24 percent to finish up 50.38 points at 20,664.64, while Seoul lost 0.81 percent, or 16.47 points, on losses from technology firms and mobile carriers to end the day at 2,013.29.
Sydney slid 1.13 percent to close down 63.9 points at 5,610.10 due to higher than estimated unemployment figures and a major bank´s share sale.
Shanghai fell 0.84 percent following a sharp drop in opening trade, while Hong Kong was down 0.58 percent in mid-afternoon trading.
The US data strengthened the case for an earlier interest rate hike from the Fed, analysts said, weakening the yen and providing a boost for Japanese stocks.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters but pushes up import costs.
"The weaker currency will be a tailwind for Japanese stocks. We´ll still see a focus on individual earnings results," Yutaka Miura, a technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News.
The Bank of Japan begins a two-day meeting Thursday, with all eyes on signs of when policymakers may launch further easing measures.
Australian equities fell after ANZ Bank announced a share sale worth Aus$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion), while the Aussie dollar weakened after unemployment unexpectedly jumped to 6.3 percent in July.