Asian Stocks Finish Mixed

Updated from 12:54 a.m. EST

Asian stocks closed mixed as oil traded near four-year lows and traders remained cautious ahead of key U.S. jobs data to be released later Friday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock finished lower by 0.08% to 7917.51. Big interest-rate cuts by the European Central Bank and Bank of England failed to give the market much of a lift, overshadowed by concerns that the U.S. employment report would show a further deterioration in the job market.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 2.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia declined by 1.2%.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 7 cents to $43.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asia. The contract fell $3.12 Thursday to settle at $43.67, the lowest since January 2005, on the heels of more bad economic news from the U.S.

Oil prices have fallen about 70% since peaking at $147.27 in July.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced Friday the U.S. and China will provide $20 billion in loans to finance trade by developing countries amid a global crisis that has hampered credit markets.

The Shanghai composite index in China closed higher by 0.9% Friday.

Stocks in Europe were trading lower. The FTSE 100 index in London fell 0.7%, while the DAX in Frankfurt dropped 1.2%.

Shares of electronics companies in Asia , such as Nintendo, were higher, on hopes lower oil prices could spur consumer spending. Automaker stocks declined. Honda(HMC) fell 1.9% following news that the company would pull out of Formula One because of the global economic slowdown and a need to focus on its core business.