Asian stocks struggle as jobs data eyed

By Kevin Plumberg

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stocks fell on Friday in the face of a rapidly slowing global economy, which dragged oil briefly below $60 a barrel, though hopes for more policy action to support growth brought markets back from their lows.

Major European share markets were expected to open as much as 1 percent lower, according to financial bookmakers, ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls report that is widely expected to show the world's largest economy continuing to bleed jobs. The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters last week is for payrolls losses of 200,000 in October.

No industry was considered a safe bet yet and investors have found few consistent havens except for the yen and some government bonds, with the financial crisis expected to see the world's developed economies headed for the first full-year contraction since World War Two.

Toyota Motor Corp shares dropped 9.2 percent after the world's top car maker cut in half its net profit forecast for fiscal year 2008 because of dwindling demand.

Central banks met limited success as they scrambled to get ahead of deteriorating conditions, though their unconventional and persistent actions won some applause.

The Bank of Korea cut interest rates for the third time in a month, following half-point cuts on Thursday from the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

The Bank of England also slashed its key rate by 1.5 percentage points on Thursday, much more than the market expected, bringing borrowing costs down to the lowest since the 1950s.

"The rate cuts send a signal on how committed the central banks are in reviving the global economy," said Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. "They inspire some confidence among investors."