Asian Shares Lower as Investors Await U.S. Jobs Data
October 01 2015 - 9:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Jake Maxwell Watts
Japanese and Australian shares drifted lower early Friday, as
investors look to a coming jobs report in the U.S. for clues about
when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.
Japan's Nikkei 225 is 0.4% lower at 17655.18 and Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 is down 0.2% at 5099.80, following a mixed
performance overnight in U.S. markets.
The losses indicate continued caution among investors in markets
more broadly, after slowing growth in China and market volatility
shook stocks globally and made the three months to the end of
September the worst quarter for many markets in years.
In Japan, SoftBank Group Corp. fell 0.8% and Hitachi Ltd. was 2%
lower. Among Australian stocks, Rio Tinto Ltd. is 1.9% lower.
In currency markets, the Japanese yen was little changed against
the U.S. dollar, trading at Yen119.86 to the dollar compared with
Yen119.92 at the close of U.S. markets. The Australian dollar
weakened 0.2% from its previous close, while Malaysia's ringgit
lost 0.5%.
With uncertainty about the health of the global economy, many
investors are watching closely for improvement in economic
indicators, particularly from the U.S., which is expected to
announce monthly jobs data late Friday. A brighter jobs picture
could offer Fed officials reason to raise short-term interest rates
later this year.
In Asia, better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data on
Thursday offered some relief from the string of disappointing
readings in recent weeks. But analysts remain cautious about
looking too much into any short-term positive data.
"Our global economists believe that near-term global recession
risks are higher than usual, with a 25% chance of a recession-like
slump this year, " Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a
note.
In commodity markets, Brent crude prices rose 0.9% early Friday,
to US$48.10 a barrel.
Chinese markets remain closed Friday for a national holiday
celebration. Indian markets are also closed.
Write to Jake Maxwell Watts at jake.watts@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 01, 2015 21:41 ET (01:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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