(Bloomberg) — As traders turn their attention to Friday’s crucial U.S. jobs data, global stocks are hitting record highs.
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In Japan, the Topix index briefly hit a new record early Friday, after surpassing the previous high set in 1989 during Thursday’s session. Korean stocks jumped after Samsung’s results beat expectations. British stock index futures rose and the pound held on to recent gains after Labor won a majority of seats in parliament, giving it a clear mandate to deliver on its promise of greater economic stability.
China’s central bank has taken another step in selling government bonds to curb a record rise, saying it now has “hundreds of billions” of yuan in securities at its disposal through deals with lenders.
Global stock indexes hit a record high, buoyed by a string of disappointing U.S. economic data that revived hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut as early as September. The monthly jobs report on Friday will be in focus.
“Given other signs of an economic slowdown – weaker ISM manufacturing PMI and ISM services sector PMI reports – the jobs report could be increasingly pivotal for the Fed as it seeks justification to signal rate easing,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
Emerging market stocks also benefited from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rising on Thursday, hitting a two-year high. European stocks rebounded, led by French shares, after indications that Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party is unlikely to win an outright majority in a runoff election this weekend.
The yen strengthened for the second straight day against the greenback on Friday, after hitting its lowest level since 1986 on Wednesday. The dollar strength index fell for the fourth straight day, with developing world currencies broadly higher.
The pound continued its rally that began last week. Labour won 326 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, securing its long-awaited landslide election victory. Rishi Sunak conceded defeat and Keir Starmer is now set to become Prime Minister.
In Asia, Chinese stocks are on track to suffer seven straight weeks of losses – the longest streak since early 2012 – as investor sentiment continues to weaken ahead of a key policy meeting this month.
“The domestic economy is really weak, with the May-June macroeconomic data and corporate reactions mostly going south,” said Xin-Yao Ng, chief investment officer at abrdn. “Expectations for economic support from the third plenum are low.”
Read: What to expect from the Third Plenum, China’s major political meeting
Meanwhile, Treasury yields were little changed after trading resumed in Asia following the July 4 holiday in the United States. Australian and New Zealand yields were also flat.
Oil hit a two-month high as Hurricane Beryl heralded a potentially more severe storm season, while dwindling U.S. crude inventories suggested improving demand. Gold headed for a straight weekly gain. Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since February.
Main events of the week:
Eurozone retail sales, Friday
US jobs report, Friday
Fed Chairman John Williams Speaks Friday
Some of the main movements in the markets:
Actions
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 1:25 p.m. Tokyo time.
Nikkei 225 (OSE) futures were little changed
Japan’s Topix fell 0.4%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1%
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9%
Euro Stoxx 50 futures little changed
Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
The euro was little changed at $1.0821.
The Japanese yen rose 0.4 percent to 160.63 per dollar.
The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.2870 per dollar.
The Australian dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6736
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 6.9% to $54,295.86
Ether fell 8.3% to $2,883.26
Obligations
The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.36%
Japan’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.070%
Australia’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 4.40%
Raw materials
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $83.75 a barrel
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,362.66 an ounce
This story was produced with assistance from Bloomberg Automation.
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