HONG KONG, July 3, 2009 (AFP) - Asia's markets were mixed Friday as investor confidence took a blow from worse-than-expected jobs figures out of the United States that suggest a global recovery may not be as close as hoped.

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 US 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 US markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines lost 2.9 percent to 593 yen. Lower crude oil prices weighed on energy-related shares such as Japan Petroleum Exploration, which lost 1.7 percent to 5,100.

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 programme, some people are saying that the economic situation in the US is still not recovering," an analyst said.

Asia's biggest refiner Sinopec jumped 1.5 percent to 5.96 dollars.

Sinopec Yizheng Chemical jumped 3.8 percent to 1.63 after it said it expects to swing to a net profit in the first half on cost-cutting measures.

Coal companies also gained after China's power output in June increased 3.6 percent from a year earlier, its first rise since October.

Shenhua Energy jumped 2.3 percent to 29.00, while China Coal rose 0.1 percent to 9.19.

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

The key resources sector was down with BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, losing 87 cents to 33.43 dollars after announcing it would sell a Queensland nickel refinery with 675 million US dollars in writedowns.

Dual-listed Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto dropped 2.15 dollars to 49.60 as it completed its massive rights offering.

Westpac was down 26 cents to 19.32 and Commonwealth Bank lost 23 cents to 37.19. National Australia Bank was flat at 21.85.

SHANGHAI: Up 0.92 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 28.11 points to 3,088.37.

The index was helped by news that Beijing will further limit large volume sales of state-owned shares, dealers said.

The key index has gained 5.5 percent for the week and closed at more than a one-year high.

China's state assets regulator will soon make selling state-owned shares of listed companies tougher, as part of its effort to promote market stability, the state-run Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.

Blue-chips rallied, with Citic Securities up 1.5 percent to 29.59 yuan. China Merchants Bank closed up 5.6 percent at 18.59, and China Cosco Holdings gained 3.6 percent to 14.31.

TAIPEI: Flat. The weighted index fell 2.13 points or 0.03 percent to 6,665.40.

Since US high-tech stocks suffered heavy losses, local counterparts, in particular large cap electronic shares, encountered more pressure following a recent strong rebound, they said.

Hon Hai Precision fell 2.39 percent to 102.00 dollars.

United Microelectronics Corp lost 1.77 percent to 11.10 and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co closed down 0.18 percent at 55.00.

However, Acer was up 1.84 percent at 60.80 and Quanta Computer added 1.90 percent at 59.00.

EVA Airways closed up 1.12 percent at 9.00 and China Airlines added 1.47 percent to 8.29.

SEOUL: Up 0.6 percent. The KOSPI ended up 8.56 points at 1,420.04.

The market opened weak because of the US jobs data. But it soon started reducing losses as foreigners and domestic institutions picked up low-priced shares, analysts said.

The market showed little response to North Korea firing short-range missiles Thursday.

LG Display rose 3.5 percent to 33,600 won and Hynix Semiconductor added 2.4 percent to 14,950.

Hyundai Motor ended 0.4 percent higher at 72,800 and Kia Motors climbed 2.4 percent to 13,000.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.91 percent. The Straits Times Index dropped 21.07 points to 2,299.75.

Singapore Airlines fell 40 cents to 12.80 dollars, ST Engineering was off two cents to 2.44 and Singapore Telecommunications added two cents to 3.01.

DBS lost six cents to 11.58, United Overseas Bank fell 24 cents to 14.26 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp eased two cents to 6.73.

KUALA LUMPUR: Down 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 6.02 points to close at 1,072.69.

Among decliners, IJM Corp slipped 8.6 percent to 5.30 ringgit as SP Setia lost 2.5 percent to close at 3.90.

On the upside, UEM Land rose 5.8 percent to 1.46.

BANGKOK: Down 0.50 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index shed 2.94 points to close at 583.48.

JAKARTA: Up 0.46 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 9.54 points to 2,075.30.

Investors were boosted by a central bank interest rate cut of 25 basis points to 6.75 percent, dealers said.

Telkom gained 4.9 percent to 8,600 rupiah, rival Indosat rose 5.8 percent to 5,500 and toll road operator Jasa Marga added 4.5 percent to 1,630.

MANILA: Down 0.27 percent. The composite index fell 6.70 points to 2,431.34.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. fell 0.82 percent to 2,390 pesos while Globe Telecom dropped 0.51 percent to 965.

Manila Electric Co. or Meralco gained 1.40 percent to 145 and Ayala Land was unchanged at 8.20.

WELLINGTON: Down 0.24 percent. The NZX-50 fell 6.68 points to close at 2,761.51.

Fletcher Building rose two cents to 6.54 dollars, with its turnover accounting for more than a quarter of the market's total.

Telecom rose three cents to 2.69 dollars and stock exchange operator NZX was down 15 cents to 7.30.

MUMBAI: Up 1.74 percent. The 30-share Sensex jumped 254.56 points to 14,913.05.