Asian stocks rise despite trade uncertainty, caution ahead of US jobs data
- Asian equities are reporting gains despite lingering trade issues.
- A weaker-than-expected US jobs data would further cement dovish Fed expectations.
Asian stocks are flashing moderate gains this Friday morning despite the lingering trade tensions.
As of writing, Japan’s Nikkei is up almost 0.60% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is adding 0.54%. Shares in Hong Kong and South Korea are also trading higher.
Further, E-mini futures for the S&P 500 are reporting a 0.15% gain.
Mexican and US officials failed to reach a deal on migration and trade on Thursday. The talks are set to continue today and if both sides fail to reach a common ground, then the US will impose 5% tariffs on Mexican products from Monday.
Reports, however, hit the wires in the overnight trade that President Trump might delay the imposition of tariffs.
That likely put a bid under the US stocks, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average end the day with 0.71% gains.
All eyes on US NFP
The non-farm payrolls data scheduled for release at 12:30 GMT is expected to show the US economy added 185K jobs in May. The jobless rate is forecasted to remain steady at 3.6% and the average weekly earnings are expected to have risen 0.3% month-on-month in May.
A big beat, especially on the wage growth figure, will likely force investors to scale back expectations of Fed rate cuts.
The probability, however, would rise if the data misses estimates. Equities may cheer weak data and the resulting rise in Fed rate cut bets, although the rally willl likely be short-lived.
Author
Omkar Godbole
FXStreet Contributor
Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.
