Friday, 5 June 2020
- Asia Pacific stocks mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report
- Euro’s gains support Asian currencies after ECB stimulus
- Oil dips on uncertainty over producers’ commitment to output cuts
Stocks in Asia Pacific mostly dipped in Friday morning trade as investors await the U.S. non farm payrolls report expected later in the day stateside.
Mainland Chinese stocks declined in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down 0.15% while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.173%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.23%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4% in morning trade while the Topix index shed 0.41%. South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, added 0.46%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.35%. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.23% lower.
The euro held big gains on Friday after the European Central Bank expanded its stimulus more than expected to prop up an economy dealing with its worst recession since World War Two. The euro fetched $1.1338 , having risen to as high as $1.1362 on Thursday, its loftiest level in almost three months.
The euro’s gains helped support appetite for riskier currencies in Asia with the Australian dollar holding gains and the Hong Kong dollar higher. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 96.791 following an earlier low of 96.715.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.09 per dollar after weakening from levels below 108 earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.694 following its rise from levels below $0.68 seen earlier this week.
The Indian rupee is expected to rise against the U.S. currency tracking the euro’s surge after the European Central Bank increased its stimulus, sending the dollar index to near three-month lows. The rupee will likely be quoted at 75.45-75.50 in early trades compared with 75.57 at 2.00 p.m. yesterday,
Oil prices eased slightly on Friday as markets wait to see whether major producers will commit to an extension of record production cuts to support oil prices.
Brent crude futures were down 8 cents, or 0.2%, at $39.91 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $37.26 a barrel.
Source : Reuters
