Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday after better-than-expected U.S. employment data boosted investor confidence, but Japan's benchmark fell amid an unwelcome drop in consumer prices. Wall Street closed higher Thursday after the U.S. government reported the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits dropped last week by 16,000, suggesting that companies are cutting fewer jobs and that the U.S. may be headed for an uptick in job growth. Analysts said that solid U.S. corporate earnings also lifted the market mood. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 22,591.45. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.2 percent to 5,112.60. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, and New Zealand also rose. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 percent at 1,948.25. Growth figures released Thursday in Britain were a surprise relief to analysts who predicted that the U.K. would sink into its third recession in five years. Instead, GDP for the first quarter of 2013 grew 0.3 percent compared with the previous quarter. Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 21 cents to $93.43 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.21 to close at $93.64 on the Nymex on Thursday. In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3033 from $1.3002 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 98.93 yen from 99.31 yen.
