Global shares trade mixed ahead of US jobs report
Global shares were trading mixed Friday ahead of a closely watched U.S. jobs report that may affect global interest rates.
France's CAC 40 lost 0.7% in early trading to 7,116.31, while Germany's DAX dipped 0.9% to 15,362.64. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 7,832.20. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures falling 0.3% to 34,010.00. S&P 500 futures were down nearly 0.9% at 34,010.00.
Weaker than expected earnings reports from U.S. technology companies, announced after Wall Street trading ended, pulled Chinese benchmarks lower.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to finish at 27,509.46. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 7,558.10. South Korea's Kospi added 0.5% to 2,480.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.4% to 21,660.47, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.7% to 3,263.41.
Economists expect the U.S. jobs report to show a slowdown in hiring. The job market has largely remained resilient despite big rate hikes by the Federal Reserve over the last year.
Big tech companies have announced high-profile layoffs recently, but a report on Thursday suggested job cuts are not that widespread. Fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, and the number dropped to its lowest level since April.
"The key risk event will be today's U.S. jobs reports, where the pace of payroll additions is expected to cool again, while the unemployment rate is likely to have risen slightly," said Anderson Alves at ActivTrades.
Stocks have gained since the year began on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon pause interest rate hikes. Such increases help stamp out inflation but also hurt the economy and investment prices.
Among the Big Tech earnings reports that came after trading closed were Google's parent company, Alphabet, which had jumped more than 7%, while Apple rose 3.7%.
They tumbled back in afterhours trading after releasing disappointing results. The stocks are among the biggest by value so their movements carry outsized sway.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, fell to 3.40% from 3.42% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, held at 4.10%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 65 cents to $75.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 65 cents to $81.52 a barrel in London.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slipped to 128.69 Japanese yen from 129.67 yen. The euro cost $1.0896, down from $1.0914.
