HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mixed Monday after… Jobs report Data released on Friday was hotter than expected, while the euro fell after French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly following a setback in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
US futures fell and oil prices rose.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan were closed for the holidays.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9% to 39,038.16 points after government data on Monday. Japan’s economy It shrank at an annual rate of 1.8% in the January-March period, an upward revision from the previously reported 2% decline.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 0.4% to 2,711.43 points.
Meanwhile, in Europe, far-right parties made significant gains in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to announce his candidacy. Dissolution of the National Assembly And calling for early legislative elections. This led to the euro falling to its lowest price in nearly a month. The euro was trading at $1.0752 early Monday, down from $1.0778.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 5,346.99, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 38,798.99, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 38,798.99.
U.S. employers added 272,000 jobs in May, up from April and more than economists expected. The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose for the second month in a row. Overall, this indicates continued strength in the labor market, with some minor signs of weakness. The strong jobs market has supported consumer spending and the broader economy, but it has also complicated the Fed’s future path on interest rates.
The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds jumped to 4.43% from 4.29% just before the jobs report. The two-year yield, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, jumped to 4.89% from 4.74% before the report.
Wall Street is hoping for at least one cut in the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate before the end of the year. The central bank raised interest rates to their highest level in more than two decades in an attempt to cool inflation to its 2% target. However, the inflation rate has remained hovering around 3% after falling sharply over the past two years. A strong economy could continue to increase prices.
A cooler economy could lower inflation and prompt the Fed to implement interest rate cuts that traders desire. The risk is that the slowdown will outgrow it into a recession, which would ultimately hurt stock prices.
Economic data released last week indicated that the economy may be declining. The latest reports show that manufacturing contracted in May, worker productivity is not as strong as economists thought and job creation is declining.
Fed officials are expected to keep interest rates steady at their meeting later this week. After the jobs report was released, investors removed more bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its July meeting, according to data from CME Group.
Wall Street is also watching retailers’ earnings, which showed customers are backing away from items that aren’t essential. Consumer spending has been the main support of the economy, but stubborn inflation is hurting consumers, especially those with low incomes.
GameStopthe struggling video game retailer that was at the heart of the meme stock craze, fell 39.4% after reporting another quarterly loss and saying it plans to sell up to 75 million more shares.
In other trading, the price of US crude oil rose 20 cents to $75.73 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 16 cents to $79.78 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 157.08 Japanese yen from 156.83 yen.
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