UPDATE: Asian Shares Mixed; Australia Jobs Support Sentiment

SINGAPORE -- Asian stock markets were trading mixed with a slight upward bias Thursday on Wall Street's positive lead the prior session. Strong Australian October jobs data provided an early boost to equities as risk-seeking investors took heart.

"Markets are in a sweet spot, with low interest rates and the G-20 vowing to keep stimulus going," said IG Markets institutional dealer Chris Weston in Sydney. "Markets do seem to want to go higher but need that next big catalyst," he said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also little changed and South Korea's Kospi Composite 0.1% higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.2%, Taiwan's main index was up 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% higher. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 15 points higher in screen trade.

In Japan, the market was led by automakers and commodity-related stocks.

Toyota Motor rose 2.3%, Honda Motor was up 1.9%, while Mitsui & Co. advanced 2.6%

FamilyMart rose 2.4%. The Japanese convenience store operator was in talks to buy unlisted smaller rival am/pm Japan Co., a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires.

The market, however, may encounter resistance, said Daiwa Securities SMBC market analyst Yumi Nishimura in Tokyo. "Uncertainties over the Japanese government's economic policies are weighing on market sentiment...if it cuts public works spending, for example, that would be a negative for many industries," she said.

Materials stocks were providing support to Australian shares, with BHP Billiton up 0.4% and Newcrest rising 1.2%. Banks were also firmer, with Commonwealth Bank up 0.7% and National Australia Bank tacking on 0.9% although insurers were taking a breather, with AMP down 1.4%.

In Hong Kong, all 7 stocks included in the MSCI China Index were higher with Anta up 2.0%, BBMG 1.3% higher and Golden Eagle up 6.1%.

Bank of East Asia rose 9%, extending its 15.2% gain on Wednesday on continued speculation that inverstment firm Guoco Group may be seeking a controlling stake in the mid-sized lender.

Guoco has recently raised its shareholding in Bank of East Asia to 8.01% from 7.99% and "Guoco's intention is quite clear now," said Ben Kwong of KGI Asia.

Korean shares were little moved by the Bank of Korea's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 2.00% for the 9th straight month. Governor Lee Seongtae's subsequent briefing to reporters provided little hint of the timing of a rate hike.

On the corporate front, however, there was some excitement in Korea as Hyosung Corp jumped 13.8% after the company decided to drop its bid for a majority stake in Hynix semiconductor due to an unfavorable market response.

"Hyosung pulling out from the bid is good because the pressure to raise huge amount of cash to take over Hynix has been relieved and the company is good as it is," said Park Dae-yong of Hyundai Securities in Seoul.

Australia's October employment data gave a boost to the Australian dollar, and other risky currencies like the euro. The Australian dollar rose over 60 points to a 15-month high of US$0.9369 after the data reinforced the market's view the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike interest rates for the third consecutive time at its Dec. 1 policy meeting.

"Players were encouraged about prospects for further Australian rate hikes after the number of employed rose, which was a positive surprise given expectations for a fall," said Tsuyoshi Okada, managing director of Gaitame.com Research Institute.

Australia's unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.8% in October from 5.7% in September, and bang on expectations. The number of employed, however, rose a strong 24,500, topping economists' expectations for a drop of 10,000.

Elsewhere, New Zealand's NZX-50 was 0.4% higher, Philippine shares rose 0.3%, Malaysian shares fell 0.2%, while Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.1% and Thai shares were flat.

In foreign exchange markets, the euro was at $1.5005 from $1.4976 late in New York Wednesday, and at Y134.75 against the yen from 134.54. The U.S. dollar was little changed against the yen at Y89.83 from Y89.82.

Still, Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of spot foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow, said that over the longer term, "there likely won't be any changes to the recent rising trend in the euro," as traders expect the European Central Bank to start tightening rates ahead of the Federal Reserve and the Bank Of Japan.

The three-month London Metals Exchange copper futures contract was at $6,551 per ton, down $12 from the London kerb, while aluminum was at $1,962 per ton, down $2.

Spot gold was $4.50 higher from the New York close at $1,121.30 after hitting a new record high earlier in the Asian day at $1,121.72 per troy ounce. The yellow metal was led by currency markets, with the U.S. dollar on the back foot after the Australian jobs data.

The lead Japanese December bond futures were up 0.18 point at 138.04 ahead of the five-year JGB tender results due later in the day. Japan's Ministry of Finance will auction Y2.4 trillion of five-year notes, about Y100 billion more than initially planned. The 10-year cash bond yield was down 2 basis points at 1.405%.

December Nymex crude oil futures were last up 9 cents at $79.37 per barrel on Globex, after rising 23 cents Wednesday.