MARKET
On Friday , Asian shares hovered near two-month highs, holding recent gains as investors awaited U.S. employment data, a key release that could make or break market expectations about aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was set for its fifth straight weekly rise.
World stocks and bonds have rallied since June on hopes global central banks will keep policy easy to support growth.
All eyes are on U.S. non-farm payrolls, due later in the day, which is expected to have jumped by 160,000 in June compared with 75,000 in May.
The Fed holds its two-day policy meeting on July 30-31 and futures are fully pricing in a 25-basis-point cut. Investors also see a 25% chance of a 50-basis-point reduction.
BONDS
Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, a benchmark for euro zone debt, fell to -0.4% and matched the European Central Bank’s deposit rate for the first time — a sign that markets are expecting rate cuts.
Yields on U.S. 10-year Treasuries hit their lowest since November 2016 on Wednesday.
FOREX
The dollar index was a tick lower at 96.725, drifting away from recent two week highs.
A weaker greenback has boosted the Australian dollar despite a rate cut on Tuesday. The Aussie is so far up 1.4% this week and last held at $0.7026.
The Japanese yen against dollar inched up to 107.84.
The euro traded at $1.1284 a touch higher than its two-week low of $1.1268 seen on Wednesday.
USD/CAD Canadian Dollar Steady Ahead of US and Canadian Jobs.
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