SINGAPORE—Asian stocks were mostly lower Friday as markets consolidated Thursday's sharp rally ahead of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in the global day, while heavyweight banks fell in Shanghai on concerns about a decline in new yuan loans.
Investors took some time off to reassess their positions as optimism over Wednesday's coordinated action by six major central banks gave way to caution amid the still-unresolved debt crisis in Europe.
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"The hope is for a year-end rally prompted by ECB action and euro-zone leaders announcing steps towards a closer union in the coming weeks," said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets in Singapore.
"If this does materialize, we could be in for a solid end of the year, but there is still a huge risk of continued disappointment as politicians continue to fail to compromise and agree," he added.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi Composite was 0.2% lower.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite lost 1.3% and India's Sensex dropped 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat in screen trade.
Major exporter stocks took a breather from Thursday's rally with Toyota Motor up 0.1% and Sony down 1.0% in Tokyo, while Hyundai Motor fell 1.6% in Seoul.
Samsung Electronics was off 0.9%, partially hurt by its global tablet war with Apple suffering a setback after Australia's highest court extended a ban on the sale of Samsung's device for at least another week.
Blue-chip banks fell in Shanghai after a report raised concerns about a slowdown in loan growth. ICBC fell 1.2%, Bank of China lost 0.3% and Agricultural Bank of China dropped 0.8%.
In Sydney, banks mostly shrugged off news that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded all four of Australia's big banks' credit ratings. Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1% after saying it doesn't expect any material impact on its funding plans, while National Australia Bank tacked on 0.3%.
The euro was range-bound after gaining on successful Spanish and French government bond auctions Thursday.
Many traders were now focusing on the outcome of a European Union Summit on Dec. 9, where German and French leaders will present plans to better integrate the 17 economies that use the single currency.
"The central bank action has bought some time for EU leaders and the euro. However, patience will thin quickly and if a significant announcement is not delivered by the time of the EU Summit at the latest the euro will comer under pressure once again," said Mitul Kotecha, strategist at Credit Agricole.
The euro was at $1.3458 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.3460 late Thursday in New York. The dollar was at ¥77.79 against the yen from ¥77.70, while the euro was at ¥104.69 from ¥104.61.
Spot gold was at $1,742.40 per troy ounce, down $2.90 from its New York settlement on Thursday. Nymex January crude oil futures were down 14 cents at $100.06 per barrel on Globex.
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