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Sydney - The rout in global government debt showed no sign of slowing as Treasuries headed for their longest slump in more than 40 years before Friday’s US jobs report.
Australian 10-year bond yields extended their advance as rates on similar-dated Treasuries rose for a 10th day. That would be the longest streak since 1974. The yen fell past ¥115/$, buoying Japanese stocks, as the dollar held gains.
South Korea’s stock market and currency markets fluctuated as a court upheld the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Stocks in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore rose. Gold dipped below $1 200 per ounce and crude remained below $50 a barrel.
Friday’s American jobs report is the last major piece of economic data before the Federal Reserve meets next week, with markets poised for a rate increase. The ECB signaled it won’t add to stimulus as growth picks up. Still, there are signs the reflation trade sparked by Donald Trump’s election is weakening, with the selloff in oil rekindling concern that energy inflation won’t persist.
What’s ahead for markets:
Official US jobs data for February are due on Friday. Employers probably added around 200 000 workers to payrolls, in line with the average over the past six months and a sign of steady growth, economists forecast. People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan speaks at the National People’s Congress on Friday.
Here are the main market moves:
Currencies
The yen fell 0.2% to ¥115.22/$ as of 07:23. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index held this week’s 0.8% advance. All 16 major currencies are down this week versus the greenback, led by the real and the rand, which have both weakened more than 2%. South Korea’s won rose 0.2%. The ruling means that Park must immediately leave her palatial Blue House residence in Seoul.
Stocks
The Topix index climbed 1.2% to the highest since December 2015. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6%, and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.1%. Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent. The gauge advanced 0.1% on Thursday and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose the same.
Bonds
The yield on the US Treasury note due in a decade was up one basis point at 2.61%. It climbed five basis points on Thursday to exceed the 2.6% mark that Bill Gross, the bond-market veteran at Janus Capital Management, said will signal the start of a bear market, should it hold on a weekly basis. The yield on Australian 10-year bonds rose four basis points to 2.97%.
Commodities
WTI crude rebounded 1% to $49.77 per barrel after dropping on Thursday by 2% to its lowest close since November 29. Gold traded at $1 199.50 per ounce, extending this week’s slide to 2.9%.
The precious metal has been retreating from February’s highs as expectations for US rate hikes dampens bullion’s appeal. Copper for three-month delivery rose 0.2% to $5 701 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, snapping a six-day slide.
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