After Wall Street’s rise to a new high, Asian stock markets fell Friday as investors waited for U.S. job data to see how the coronavirus outbreaks were affecting the largest global economy.
South Korea, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Hong Kong all retreated. Tokyo was down 0.1%
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose after investors were encouraged by Thursday’s decline in U.S. unemployment benefits. For an indication of the impact new diseases and anti-disease curbs may have on hiring and wages, they were waiting for Friday’s monthly employment reports.
Yeap Jun Rong, IG, stated that the jobs report would be “the key highlight of the week” in light of conflicting market indicators which “put more uncertainty” about whether hiring expectations can be met.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3,444.19, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4% to 26,093.53. China’s stocks are being affected by anti-monopoly and data security campaign launched by Beijing against tech companies.
After the Japanese labor cash earnings fell for the first four months, the Nikkei225 in Tokyo saw a decrease of 0.1% to 27,744.24,
The Kospi in Seoul fell 0.3% to 3265.92, while the ASX-S&P200 in Sydney was unchanged at 7,510.90. New Zealand fell while Singapore and Indonesia rose.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% on Wall Street to 4,429.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8% to 35.064.25. The Nasdaq gained 0.8% to 14,895.12.
Consumer stocks, tech and retailing all rose. As bond yields rose, banks gained and had more room to charge for loans. Stocks of materials and health care fell.
The Labor Department reported that last week’s number of unemployment claims dropped by 14,000. This is a positive sign for the recovery of the labor market. This came after a weak report by payroll processor ADP that showed the private sector added jobs at an slower rate than was expected in July.
Energy markets saw benchmark crude oil rise 8 cents to $69.17 a barrel in electronic trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract gained 94 cents to $69.09. Brent crude oil, which is the price basis for international oils gained 8 cents to $71.37 per barrel in London. It rose 91 cents to $71.29 from the previous session.
From Thursday’s 109.76, the dollar rose to 109.86 from Thursday. From $1.1836, the euro dropped to $1.1824.
