Asian shares and the dollar remained steady as investors assessed the impact of a strong US jobs report on potential Federal Reserve rate cuts. Oil prices fell as Middle East tensions eased, while gold prices continued to rally. Resilient economic data have led to reduced expectations of a June rate cut, with July now seen as the likely starting point for easing. Investors are closely watching US inflation data and Treasury yields, with the possibility of a reassessment of rate cut expectations based on upcoming trends.
Asian stock markets rallied as the yen fell against everything except the dollar, boosting Japanese stocks, while commodities like gold, oil, and copper reached new highs. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the possibility of U.S. rate cuts, though the timing remains uncertain. Optimism about global growth was fueled by a recovery in recent factory surveys, particularly in China. The rise in yields has been generally supportive of the dollar, with gold climbing 13% since February and oil prices surging due to supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions.
Asian shares trade mostly sideways near seven-month highs as investors await clarity on the global interest rate easing cycle, with Japan's Nikkei snapping a three-day losing streak but still on track for its steepest weekly decline in three months. Attention turns to U.S. producer price data and retail sales figures for February ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, while speculation swirls about a potential policy pivot from the Bank of Japan. The dollar struggles to break away from recent lows, and in China, the blue-chip CSI300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index both fall more than 0.6% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slides 1% due to news of a global trade association representing biotechnology companies taking steps to "separate" from a Chinese member.
