Markets quiet ahead of US Non-Farm Payrolls and prolonged Easter weekend

Chris Beauchamp IG

It has been a quiet day for equities ahead of Friday's US Non-Farm Payrolls and the prolonged Easter weekend, says Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at online trading platform IG.

Markets slow down ahead US Non-Farm Payrolls

“Stock, bond and FX markets have traded in tight ranges on low volume today, ahead of Friday's US Non-Farm Payrolls during which the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Canada will be shut due to Easter Bank holidays.
Friday’s employment data will be watched more closely than usual after two US employment reports this week showed the jobs market unexpectedly weakening. With investors still being skittish about the outlook for the year, next week's US FOMC minutes, CPI data for March and the start of the Q1 earnings season may shed more light on whether the recent equity market rally has legs.”

US Non-Farm Payrolls will be closely watched

“Friday’s US payrolls report will be a pivotal one for stocks. The worst outcome would be rising wages and a weaker jobs number, something that might reverse the growing expectation of a Fed pause in May. Such a scenario would likely put stocks at risk of giving back their recent gains.”

Author

Chris Beauchamp

Chris Beauchamp has been with IG for four years, and in that time has become a regular commentator and analyst for the financial press and TV, with appearances on all the major financial channels as well as the BBC and Sky News.

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