Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.74%, Shanghai Composite up 0.40%, Hang Seng up 2.03%, ASX up 0.12%
- Commodities : Gold at $1710.70 (-0.97%), Silver at $17.94 (-0.70%), Brent Oil at $40.84 (+2.13%), WTI Oil at $37.97 (+1.50%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.857, UK 10-year yield at 0.340, Germany 10-year yield at -0.296
News & Data:
- (GBP) Halifax HPI m/m -0.20% vs -0.70% expected
- (JPY) Leading Indicators 76.20% vs 76.30% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 1877K vs 1820K expected
- (CAD) Trade Balance -3.3B vs -2.7B expected
- (EUR) Main Refinancing Rate 0.00% vs 0.00% expected
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday with investors taking profits after recent strength in the markets and also on caution ahead of the release of the closely-watched U.S. jobs data for May later today. Economists currently expect employment to tumble by about 8.0 million jobs in May after plunging by 20.5 million jobs in April.
The unemployment rate is expected to jump to 19.8 percent from 14.7 percent. Investor attention is now focused on Friday’s U.S. employment report, which is expected to show nonfarm payrolls fell in May by 8 million jobs after a record 20.54 million plunge in April.
Mainland Chinese stocks gained on the day. The Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen component both added 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.7%, as airline shares surged. Similar trends were observed across the region.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 96.53. That followed a decline from levels above 98 seen earlier this week. All eyes will next be on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which holds its regular two-day policy meeting next week.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate