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In a photo taken on November 4, 2019 a subway train crosses a rail bridge over the Han river, before the skyline of the Yeouido business district of Seoul.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images
Asia markets were set for gains Monday after a soft monthly jobs report from the United States helped ease bets that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike interest rates.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 in October, lower than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 170,000 rise.
Investors will monitor Japan's au Jibun Bank's final reading on business activity in October, due later Monday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 is set to rise after a long weekend, with the futures contract in Chicago at 32,785 and its counterpart in Osaka at 32,330 against the index's last close of 31,949.89.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 17,867, pointing to a higher open compared with the HSI's close of 17,664.12.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.37%.
Fri, Nov 3 20238:36 AM EDT
U.S. jobs grow at slower-than-expected pace in October
The Labor Department said Friday that the U.S. economy added 150,000 in October. That's slightly below a Dow Jones forecast of 170,000.
Average hourly earnings, a closely watched data point in the report for inflation trends, rose 0.2% last month. That's also a smaller-than-expected increase. The unemployment, meanwhile, climbed to 3.9% versus a forecast of 3.8%.
— Fred Imbert
Fri, Nov 3 202311:17 AM EDT
Goldman Sachs chief economist says jobs data reaffirms outlook that Fed is done hiking interest rates
Friday's jobs report coming in below expectations bolsters the argument that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates, said Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius.
"I thought it was broadly weaker than what we expected," Hatzius said of the report on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." But, "I don't think it was weak in a very concerning way."
Hatzius said the print supported the argument of those expecting that the central bank was done increasing interest rates in the current monetary policy cycle following its meeting earlier in the week. While he said Goldman isn't expecting the Fed to cut rates until the fourth quarter of next year, he said the central bank could starting pulling them down if the economy weakens more sharply before then.
"It was a softer report that I think underscores the message that the market took out of the FOMC meeting this week — namely, that the Fed is very likely done hiking," he said, using the acronym for the Federal Open Market Committee.
— Alex Harring
Fri, Nov 3 20231:47 PM EDT
Long-term Treasury ETF extends November rally
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is on track for its third straight positive day as Treasury yields decline.
The TLT was up 1.2% in afternoon trading, meaning that the fund was already up more than 5% in November, which kicked off with Wednesday's Fed meeting.
TLT saw heavy inflows and trading activity in October, as some investors appeared to be betting on a rebound for the fund after yields rose above 5%.
— Jesse Pound
English (US)