HONG KONG - Asian stocks mostly edged higher Friday as dealers followed a third straight rise on Wall Street, but gains were limited by unease ahead of much-anticipated US jobs data.

Optimism over the US economy was boosted on Thursday after a fresh batch of upbeat figures on housing, benefits and factory orders suggested the outlook was not as bad as expected, backing an upbeat manufacturing index Wednesday.

Tokyo closed up 0.57%, adding 51.29 points to 9,114.13 while Sydney gained 0.19%, or 8.5 points, to end at 4,541.2.

Hong Kong rose 0.49%, or 102.58 points, to 20,971.50 and Shanghai ended flat, edging down 0.39 points to 2,655.39.

Investors were following a 0.49% gain on the Dow after the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell faster than expected last week, extending a two-week decline.

Claims for the week to August 28 fell to 472,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000, beating most economists' expectations of 475,000 new claims.

The news came as the National Association of Realtors reported pending home sales rose 5.2% in July, promising a much-needed boost to the housing market. Another report showed orders to US factories rose 0.1% in July, the first increase after two months of declines.

Those figures followed Wednesday's announcement that a key US manufacturing index had risen more than expected.

"It's been a strong week, ahead of US payrolls data and the US long weekend," IG Markets strategist Ben Potter told Dow Jones Newswires in Sydney.

"I think people are too pessimistic and evidence is pointing toward a soft patch in the US recovery, rather than a double dip."

However, caution permeated trade as dealers awaited the release later Friday of US non-farm payroll figures -- combining government and private jobs -- which are expected to show unemployment rising.

The yen continued to cap Tokyo's gains, however.

The dollar, which hit a 15-year low against the yen last week, fetched 84.31 yen in Tokyo morning trade, unchanged from New York late Thursday.

The euro edged down to $1.2811 from $1.2821 after firming overnight on the European Central Bank's decision to hike the region's growth and inflation forecasts for 2010 and 2011. The euro was flat at 108.07 yen.

"Gains may be limited since the yen's strength, which is our biggest concern, shows no signs of receding," Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets, said.

"We'd like to see how the dollar moves against the yen after US jobs data later today," he said.

Meanwhile, the Thai baht was at 31.06 to the dollar, hovering at two-year highs, while Bangkok ordered the central bank to monitor the unit and "prepare measures" after it climbed about 5% to 6% this year.

Oil was lower. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, fell 43 cents to $74.59 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery, shed 42 cents to $76.51.

Gold closed at $1,251.60-$1,252.60 an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Thursday's closing price of $1,247.50-$1,248.50.