Asian stocks hesitant, Hong Kong unrest and U.S. data in focus

Asian stocks were on the defensive on Friday despite a late bounce on Wall Street with sentiment staying fragile as the civil unrest in Hong Kong and caution ahead of a closely watched U.S. The European Central Bank did little to cheer investors on Thursday after it gave no new hints of an imminent sovereign bond buying program and fell short of market expectations for greater details on its plan to buy secured debt. "Disappointment stemmed from the absence of a cast-iron commitment from Draghi to do 'whatever it takes' to expand its balance sheet back to its 2012 peaks," said Ray Attrill, global co-head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank. Tokyo's Nikkei (.N225) climbed 0.13 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) drifted up 0.05 percent.

via Business News http://ift.tt/1rBFhTc