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* Asian stocks fluctuate ahead of U.S. jobs data
* Dollar holds ground; gold down from record high
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks sagged before monthly
U.S. jobs data on Friday, with property and resource shares
weighing on Hong Kong and Australia falling, after soft U.S.
data raised concerns about the pace of economic recovery.
Gold <XAU=> slid from a record on profit-taking and crude
futures <CLc1> fell for a third day after disappointing U.S.
service sector numbers, as investor caution reigned ahead of
the November payrolls report seen as a health check of the
economy.
Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 130,000 U.S. jobs
were lost in November compared with a loss of 190,000 jobs in
October. The unemployment rate is seen at 10.2 percent,
unchanged from the prior month. The data release is due at 1330
GMT.
In Japan, shares were slightly lower after briefly
squeezing into positive territory to top 10,000 for the first
time in five weeks. The benchmark Nikkei index <>
fluctuated after gains this week which saw it rise nearly 4
percent on Thursday.
"For further gains, investors need to see more clarity
about Japan's economic policies, along with U.S. jobs data that
could still surprise the market," said Kenichi Hirano,
operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
Seoul shares rose as positive economic data and gains in
shipyards and technology issues lent support.
The economy grew faster than initially predicted in the
third quarter and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index <>
(KOSPI) rose 0.9 percent. []
But the MSCI index of Asia excluding Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS>
fell 0.8 percent.
Australian stocks fell 1.2 percent <>, with top miners
BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> down about 2
percent ahead of an expected agreement on final terms for their
planned iron ore joint venture.
Hong Kong stocks dropped 1.1 percent <>, undermined by
the soft U.S. data. Shares of Henderson Land <0012.HK> fell
after jumping more than 6 percent in the previous session and
CNOOC <0883.HK> dropped 1.3 percent.
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after the unexpected
contraction in the vast services sector spurred worries about
the recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <> shed 0.8 percent,
along with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX>, while the
Nasdaq Composite Index <> climbed 0.5 percent. []
The dollar held steady at 88.25 yen <JPY=>, after
rebounding this week from a recent 14-year trough.
The euro was unchanged at $1.5063 <EUR=>, holding near a
recent 16-month high after the European Central Bank suggested
it would gradually withdraw emergency liquidity from the
system. [].
Japanese government bonds slipped as the yen took a
breather from its recent surge that stoked concerns of added
deflationary pressure and prompted the Bank of Japan to step up
its monetary easing.
Little impact was seen from the ruling parties' efforts to
finalise an economic stimulus package, with Finance Minister
Hirohisa Fujii saying the government will stick to its
principle of not raising bond issuance to fund stimulus.
[] []
(Editing by Jan Dahinten)
((Email: charlotte.cooper@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1870;
Reuters Messaging: charlotte.cooper.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For the state of play of Asian stock markets please click
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