Investing.com – Asian Pacific stocks are set to kick off the trading week on a high note as U.S. investors interpret the recent slowdown in U.S. job growth as a sign that interest rates may have reached their peak.
By 10:15 am AEDT (11:pm GMT) S&P/ASX 200 was up by 0.3%.
The S&P 500 rallied on Friday, posting the largest weekly gains since November 2022. This was following the latest monthly jobs report, which suggested that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to raise interest rates is having the desired effect.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also added approximately 200 points or 0.7% on Friday, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 1.4%. Both indexes recorded their largest weekly percentage gains of the year.
The October jobs report indicated a slowdown in hiring last month. Employers added 150,000 jobs in October, half of the previous month’s gain and below economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate increased to 3.9% and wage growth eased.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil saw a 2.3% drop to US$84.89 a barrel, while gold experienced a 0.4% increase to US$1,992.65.
In the local bond markets, the yield on Australian Australia 2-Year government bonds was lower at 4.34% while the 10 Year yield also fell to 4.72%. U.S. Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.84% and the 10 Year yield at 4.57%.
The Australian dollar remained steady at 65.11 US cents. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index was at 105.1.
In China, shares closed higher, led by stocks in the robotics companies, as the government’s guidance to develop the humanoid robots industry raised hopes of likely policy support. However, bank and real estate sector stocks declined.
Hong Kong shares also closed higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight as investors bet that the Fed’s rate hikes have come to an end. Healthcare and tech stocks led the gains.
In India, shares ended higher, tracking positive global cues. Investor sentiment was boosted after the U.S. Federal Reserve extended its pause on its interest rate hikes, boosting hopes that the global central banks’ policy tightening cycle is at an end.
European stocks traded mixed as losses for oil shares offset upbeat investor reaction to worse-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data.
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