BANGKOK - ASIAN markets were mixed on Thursday as investors anticipated interest rate cuts in Europe and braced for more bad news from Friday's US jobs report.

Japan's Nikkei 225 average fell 79.86 points, or 1 per cent, to 7,924.24 as automakers continued to slide amid signs of slumping demand for new vehicles in the United States and Toyota said it was briefly suspending production at three plants in Japan later this month.

Investors were also nervous about the fate of the US automakers trying to persuade skeptical lawmakers to save their troubled industry with US$34 billion (S$51.9 billion) in emergency aid.

'There are so many reasons to be worried,' said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities in Tokyo.

Major bourses in Europe opened higher with Britian's FTSE-100 up 1.5 per cent at 4,230.61, Germany's DAX gaining 2.2 per cent to 4,667.89 and France's CAC-40 up 1.7 per cent at 3,221.56.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.6 per cent to 13,509 points, but mainland China's Shanghai Composite index rose 1.8 per cent to 2001.5 on news that a government fund had bought shares in a major bank.

New Zealand's share index rose 0.9 per cent after the central bank slashed its cash rate by a record 1.5 percentage points.

Markets in India, Singapore and Indonesia rose, but those in Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia fell.

The US jobs report is likely to be 'very bad,' said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. Some analysts are predicting the world's biggest economy shed as many as 350,000 jobs in November.

'I think investors are conditioned to the fact that we won't see any good jobs reports until the middle of next year,' Mr Lun said.

'Markets are resigned to the fact that unemployment will continue increasing.' In Europe, worse-than-expected economic readings have stoked expectations that the Bank of England and the European Central Bank may cut interest rates aggressively on Thursday. Some central bank watchers expect the ECB to cut by three-quarters of a point and the Bank of England to announce a half-point cut, reducing its rate to 2 per cent, which would be equal to its lowest since the bank was founded in 1694.

On Wall Street Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 172.6 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 8,591.69. The Dow has gained more than 442 points in the past two sessions, recouping more than half of Monday's nearly 680 point slide.

US stock index futures were mixed. Dow futures were down 8 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 8,571 and S&P 500 futures were up 2.1 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 870.60.

In Japan, the nation's No. 1 carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. fell 3.6 per cent after announcing plans to suspend production at three plants in Japan for a day or two later this month to cope with slowing global demand. Nissan Motor tumbled 6.4 per cent and Honda Motor dived 6.2 per cent.

Japan's top oil distributor Nippon Oil rose 3.4 per cent after saying it will begin merger talks with smaller rival Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. to weather sluggish demand.

Financial stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai continued to rally after Central Huijin Investment Company, a subsidiary of China's sovereign wealth fund, said Wednesday it bought more than 70 million shares of China Construction Bank Ltd., the country's second-largest commercial bank, between Sept 23 and Nov 28.

Huijing said the purchases were meant to support the stock market, which has lost some 60 per cent of its value over the past year.

China Construction Bank jumped 3.1 percent and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China's biggest commercial lender, gained 2.3 per cent.

'The government buying some shares in the open market shows its determination not to let the economy sink. It gives some optimism,' said Mr Lun of Fullbright Securities in Hong Kong.

Thailand's SET index, which rallied on Wednesday after the central bank cut its overnight lending rate by 1 percentage point and anti-government protesters ended a weeklong occupation of Bangkok's two airports, ended little changed at 392.87.

Oil prices fell to their lowest in level in nearly four years in Asia as investors expect a gloomy global economy to hurt crude demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was down 68 cents to US$46.11 (S$70.42) a barrel - the lowest since closing at $45.42 on Feb. 10, 2005 - in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.

SHANGHAI
Chinese shares closed up 1.84 per cent on Thursday, led by financial companies on news that a unit of China's sovereign wealth fund had increased stakes in three state-controlled banks, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 36.09 points at 2,001.50 on turnover of 122.8 billion yuan (S$27.3 billion).

The Shanghai A-share index added 38.09 points, or 1.85 per cent, to 2,101.94 on turnover of 122.5 billion yuan, while the Shenzhen A-share index rose 3.18 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 617.85 on turnover of 56.8 billion yuan.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower on Thursday, as financial and property stocks plunged on news that the US is in for a deep recession, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day down 78.88 points at 13,509.78. Turnover was light at HK$39.90 billion (S$7.8 billion).

KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian shares closed slightly lower on Thursday in lacklustre trade as institutional players dumped selected bluechips, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 0.67 of a point or 0.1 per cent to close the day at 846.86.

TOKYO
Japanese share prices ended 1.0 per cent lower on Thursday, reversing early gains as investors took profits due to the cautious economic outlook.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 dropped 79.86 points to 7,924.24. The broader Topix index of all first section issues lost 10.31 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 788.88.-- AP, AFP, BERNAMA