Asian Stocks Hit Amid Caution Ahead Of Key US Jobs Data: Markets Wrap

Most Asian stocks were hit on Friday as traders remained cautious just ahead of the release of US payroll data, which could set the tone for the September rate cut.

The equity benchmark in South Korea fell over 1% during the session's open while Australia's gauge advanced later in trade. The region's equity futures contracts remained mixed. The Nikkei 225 was 0.24% lower at 36,568, and the Kospi was down 0.77% at 2,555 as of 8:28 a.m.

Trading in Hong Kong will be shut on Friday as the country is battered by Super Typhoon Yagi. The city raised its storm warning to the third-highest level. 

All eyes will be on the upcoming US jobs data for August due Friday, a key indicator of whether the Federal Reserve will initiate a half-point interest cut in September. The monthly economic report is expected to show payrolls increased by about 1,65,000, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

While the payroll data is expected to show a pick-up in hiring and wage growth, caution remained as the US added the fewest jobs since early 2021. Traders are still pricing in over 100 basis points of easing this year, implying a potential super-sized reduction, according to Bloomberg.

In a major update, India overtook China to become the largest weighting in the MSCI EM investable market index (IMI) earlier this week. This will help draw more absolute foreign flows in the country's financial markets even as it competes with local participants for a share of the pie.

The GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50’s performance in India, was down 29 points, or 0.12% at 25,170.5 as of 8:29 a.m.

In the commodity space, crude oil prices were slightly higher after OPEC+ postponed its supply hike by two months after the recent prices drop. But term plan to revive 2.2 million barrels a day of idle supplies gradually over a year remained in place.

Wall Street was hit as traders sent most equity benchmarks down in the run-up to the US payroll figures. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.30% and 0.54%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.25%.

Brent crude was trading 0.03% higher at $72.71 a barrel as of 8:30 a.m. IST. Gold was up 0.05% at $2,518.06 an ounce.

• US Dollar Index at 101.04.

• US 10-year bond yield at 3.73%.

• Brent crude up 0.03% at $72.71 per barrel.

• Bitcoin was up 0.22% at $56,199.96.

• Gold was up 0.05% at $2,518.06 an ounce.

• Eurozone GDP on Friday

• US nonfarm payrolls on Friday

• Fed’s John Williams speaks on Friday