US stock futures advanced, while two-year Treasury yields were little changed as investors jobs data that showed some signs of easing in a still-tight American labor market. The dollar fell.
(Bloomberg) — US stock futures advanced, while two-year Treasury yields were little changed as investors jobs data that showed some signs of easing in a still-tight American labor market.
The dollar fell.
Contracts on the S&P 500 pushed to session highs and the two-year yield held below 3.5% after employers added 315,000 jobs last month, slightly above what economists expected.
Wage growth slowed as more Americans entered the labor force, potentially signaling some softening in labor demand.
The jobs report likely did little to alter trader views on the Federal Reserve’s next policy move — a rate increase of up to three-quarters of a percentage point as it continues to battle inflation.
The data add to a bevy of reports this week that validate the Fed’s assertion that the economy is robust enough to withstand more tightening. Risk assets have been under pressure since Chair Jerome Powell made clear the central bank will raise rates further and keep them elevated until price gains slow.
“Unemployment remains relatively low, but the cause may be minimal labour force participation rather than a booming economy,” said Richard Flynn, managing director at Charles Schwab UK.
“Investors will be mindful that jobs reports are a lagging indicator that are often strong heading into a recession. Indeed, broader economic indicators have been weakening recently.
Concern that rising rates will hurt growth has already weighed on markets, pushing global bonds into their first bear market in a generation.
The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Total Return Index of government and investment-grade corporate bonds down more than 20% from a 2021 peak.
Oil trimmed gains after news that the Group of Seven most industrialized countries is poised to agree to introduce a price cap for global purchases of Russian oil, while Russia looks set to resume gas supplies through its key pipeline.
Meanwhile, zinc headed for its biggest weekly loss in over a decade on concern Chinese demand will be hamstrung by new virus restrictions.
Gold and Bitcoin rose.
Here are some key events to watch this week:
- UK leadership ballot closes Friday. Winner announced Sept. 5
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 8:33 a.m.
New York time
- Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%
- The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
- The euro rose 0.8% to $1.0028
- The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.1576
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 140.24 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.24%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 1.57%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.90%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.7% to $88.08 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,716 an ounce
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
