Economists expect one million payrolls to have been added last month
Wall Street stocks climbed overnight as investors awaited jobs report to assess the pace of the labor-market recovery after better-than-expected jobless claims data. First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 498,000 for last week, hitting a fresh pandemic-era low. Economists expect one million payrolls to have been added last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite erased earlier losses and added 0.4%.
Today in Asia, equities were mixed amid the persisting worries about the recent surges of illnesses in India, Thailand, and other countries. China stocks fell amid concerns over Sino-West tensions that offset optimism surrounding upbeat economic data. China’s export growth unexpectedly accelerated in April while services sector expanded at the sharpest pace in four months. Still, the Shanghai Composite shed 0.65%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped early losses to edge up 0.09%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.27%, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.58% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.18%.
European stocks opened higher to hit a record high on Friday amid strong economic data and upbeat earnings. In Germany, companies increased their exports for the eleventh month in a row in March, with growth coming in at 1.2%. Industrial output in the country grew 2.5% month-on-month. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% in early trade.
Meanwhile, the dollar is mostly lower on Friday ahead of the key jobs data. EURUSD is now targeting the 1.2100 figure, rebounding from this week’s lows around 1.1985 seen on Wednesday. If the US data surprises on the upside, the greenback could reverse recent losses to turn positive ahead of the weekend. In this scenario, the euro would get back under the 100-DMA in the 1.2050 area.
