Ahead of the most recent U.S. jobs reading, Asian stock markets decline

On Friday's Asian stock market action was uneven ahead of U.S. jobs data that could support Federal Reserve plans for larger interest rate increases to curb rising inflation.

Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong all withdrew as Shanghai moved forward. Over $1.50 per barrel was added to the price of oil.

Investors anticipated U.S. employment statistics for August to gauge how the economy is responding to four previous hikes to re....