Markets Steady Ahead of Jobs Numbers
US Stock markets experienced a mixed day yesterday as investors weighed up moves in treasury yields, economic data, and earnings reports ahead of key jobs data later today. The Dow closed down 0.19%, the S&P dropped 0.25% and the Nasdaq added 0.08% in choppy trading conditions. The currency market had a relatively quiet day as well trading in tight ranges albeit at the top of recent USD levels and sterling drifted lower after the Bank of England delivered a 25bps hike. US treasury yields once again increased with the benchmark 10-year trading as high as 4.198% during the session and Amazon shares surged after market close as it forecast much higher third quarter revenues than expected and Apple’s dropped on lower iPhone sales.
Key US Jobs Data Today
The blue riband event for financial markets is due out today and traders are expecting rangebound conditions ahead of it. The non-Farm Payrolls, or Employment change as it’s now called has long been a major focus for investors and it has given many a trader’s nightmares after surprise prints have sent markets on rollercoaster rides that they don’t necessarily need on a late Friday trading session. Today’s event has if anything taken on even more importance as the Federal Reserve has indicated that they are on data watch as they near the end of their tightening cycle. Expectations are for a 205K increase in the headline number and for the unemployment rate to remain at 3.6% but anything suitably away from those could see traders jumping back on that aforementioned rollercoaster, whether they want to or not!
All Quiet Ahead of Non-Farms
The economic event calendar is relatively quiet ahead of the key non-Farms employment change data later today and investors are expecting rangebound trading conditions ahead of it. There will be some added interest in Australian markets at the start of the trading day with the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Monetary Policy Statement but there is little else out in the first two trading sessions to trouble the scorers. The main action of the day is likely to come once New York opens and the release of the latest US non-Farms and employment data and once again spare a thought for Canadian dollar traders as they try to negotiate the release of the Canadian employment numbers at the same time.
