Markets Wait For U.S. Jobs Data

After a stronger-than-expected Services PMI reading from the U.S. on Thursday, markets are bracing for the crucial payrolls data from the U.S. on Friday morning. Sentiment remains cautious as fears of a strong job market update slowing the Fed’s monetary easing plans weighed heavily. Lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle east also kept markets on tenterhooks.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders, the likelihood of a half-point cut in the next Fed review in November has fallen to 30.5 percent from 32 percent a day earlier and 53 percent a week earlier.

Wall Street Futures are trading in positive territory. European benchmarks are trading mostly higher. Asian markets however finished trading on a mixed note.

Dollar Index slipped below the flatline. Bond yields hardened across regions. Middle East tensions and potential impact on crude oil supply lifted crude oil prices. Gold prices edged down. Cryptocurrencies mostly rebounded.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 42,080.00 up 0.16%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,718.30, up 0.32%
Germany’s DAX at 19,062.35, up 0.37%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 8,248.46, down 0.41%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,516.78, up 0.52%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,938.15, up 0.34%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 38,613.50, up 0.16%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 8,150.00, down 0.67%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 3,336.50, up 8.06% (Sep 30)
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 22,736.87, up 2.82%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.1029, down 0.02%
GBP/USD at 1.3171, up 0.35%
USD/JPY at 146.47, down 0.30%
AUD/USD at 0.6841, up 0.02%
USD/CAD at 1.3554, up 0.02%
Dollar Index at 101.87, down 0.12%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 3.870%, up 0.34%
Germany at 2.1920%, up 2.57%
France at 2.970%, up 1.16%
U.K. at 4.1100%, up 2.29%
Japan at 0.882%, up 0.23%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $78.59, up 1.25%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Nov) at $74.77, up 1.44%.
Gold Futures (Dec) at $2,677.85, down 0.05%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $61,278.20, up 0.57%
Ethereum at $2,375.27, up 0.60%
BNB at $552.06, up 2.08%
Solana at $139.42, up 1.20%
XRP at $0.5238, down 0.11%.