Asian markets mixed after grim U.S. jobs data

Job losses in the world's largest economy surged to 467,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a fresh 26-year high of 9.5 percent.

The gloomier-than-expected report dampened hopes that the U.S. slump has hit bottom.

The news sent Tokyo 0.61 percent lower, Sydney 1.27 percent down and Singapore 0.91 percent.

Wall Street tumbled 2.63 percent.

However, the early losses in some markets gave way to bargain hunting, helping Hong Kong up 0.14 percent and Seoul 0.6 percent.

TOKYO: Down 0.61 percent. The Nikkei-225 fell 60.08 points to 9,816.07. “Overly optimistic views on the economy are disappearing,” Mizuho Securities analyst Yutaka Miura told Dow Jones Newswires. But the sell-off was relatively limited, partly due to the absence of many foreign players with U.S. markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.

HONG KONG: Up 0.14 percent. The Hang Seng Index added 25.35 points to 18,203.40. “In spite of a trillion-dollar stimulus program, some people are saying that the economic situation in the U.S. is still not recovering,” an analyst said.

SYDNEY: Down 1.27 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 49.1 points to 3,828.2.

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