Markets Waver After Wall St Record, Eyes On Jobs Data

London, July 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jul, 2021 ) :Asian and European stocks traded mixed Friday as investors struggled to gain momentum, with recovery optimism and vaccine hope playing against worries over a spike in new virus infections.

Traders are now looking forward to much-anticipated US jobs data later in the day, which will provide a fresh snapshot of the world's biggest economy and possibly give the Federal Reserve further reason to begin tapering its ultra-loose monetary policy.

"Today's data will shed some light on the health of the labour market recovery and a possible timeline for the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy," said OANDA analyst Sophie Griffiths.

The rapid spread of the Delta virus variant has become a cause for concern for several governments and has forced some, including Australia and South Africa, to reimpose lockdown measures.

However, other countries such as Britain, the United States and parts of Europe were pressing ahead with their reopenings despite a surge in new cases, with vaccines appearing to help keep deaths and hospitalisations down.

Johnson & Johnson became the latest pharma giant to say its drug was effective against Delta and offered durable protection against infection more broadly.

Confidence in the jabs and a string of healthy economic readings out of various countries is helping push equity markets higher, and on Thursday the S&P 500 hit a record for the sixth session in a row.

The latest figures showed US jobless applications fell again last week to a pandemic-era low, while manufacturing activity continued to improve.

The International Monetary Fund added to the positive mood, forecasting the US economy to expand seven percent this year, its highest since 1984, while it also upped its outlook for next year.

- Hong Kong, Shanghai tumble - After Wall Street's rally, Asia enjoyed early broad gains that tailed off.

Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta were all up, while Seoul and Taipei were marginally lower.

Hong Kong and Shanghai tanked, however, following a recent run-up in the days leading into Thursday's Chinese Communist Party centenary celebrations, when authorities looked to provide support to markets.

In Europe, Frankfurt and London eked out modest gains but Paris flatlined.

All attention is now on the US non-farm payrolls data on Friday, with the Fed paying close attention as it considers its next step on monetary policy.

On oil markets, both contracts dipped slightly following Thursday's rally that was fuelled by OPEC and other major producers delaying until Friday a decision on whether to boost output to meet surging demand. WTI and Brent are at levels not seen since 2018.

A panel had earlier recommended they pump an extra 400,000 barrels a day, less than forecast, despite fears that supplies are tightening quickly.

- Key figures at 1050 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,135.85 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.4 percent at 15,659.62 Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 6,552.34 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,086.68 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 28,783.28 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.8 percent at 28,310.42 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.0 percent at 3,518.76 (close) New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,633.53 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1828 from $1.1850 at 2100 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3755 from $1.3767 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.00 pence from 86.07 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.45 Yen from 111.53 yenBrent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $75.67 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $75.11 per barrel