Stocks in Asia were muted on Friday ahead of the release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which may provide clues as on whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its July monetary policy meeting.

Mainland Chinese stocks were higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.19% to about 3,011.06 and the Shenzhen component adding 0.8% to 9,443.22. The Shenzhen composite was higher by 0.626% to approximately 1,601.20.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was 0.13% lower, as of its final hour of trading.

India's Nifty 50 fell below the 11,900 level as the country announced its budget for the fiscal year from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India needs to invest heavily in infrastructure, digital economy and job creation in small and medium-sized firms to achieve its goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy over the next several years.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to close at 21,746.38 and the Topix rose 0.18% to end its trading day at 1,592.58.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi finished its trading day fractionally higher at 2,110.59, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 0.76% after reporting that second-quarter profit likely dropped 56% as compared to a year ago.

Australia's closed 0.5% higher at 6,751.30 as most of the sectors advanced.