Hong Kong stocks open 0.37pc lower

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks opened 0.37 percent lower on Friday following a surge of more than five percent the previous day, as the market awaited the release of US employment data.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 69.84 points to 18,932.42 in initial trading, retreating a notch from Thursday's jump of 5.63 percent, which followed coordinated action by six central banks to boost market liquidity.

Many investors in Asia on Friday were adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the US non-farm payrolls data to be released later in the day, traders said.