(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks saw a muted start to trading Friday with no direction from their U.S. counterparts thanks to the American holiday. Treasury yields ticked lower as investors awaited the key U.S. jobs report.
Shares across the region were little changed, as were U.S. futures. The dollar was flat along with gold. Oil fell, even amid further Middle East tensions, with the British seizure of an Iranian vessel. European shares drifted Thursday in a lackluster session marked by thin trading volumes. Core bonds in the region climbed, with German 10-year yields dipping below the European Central Bank’s deposit rate for the first time.
The break from U.S. trading Thursday has given investors a chance to take stock, after a busy few weeks of mixed economic data, dovish central bank commentary and signs of progress on trade talks. Next up, a U.S. employment report that will be closely monitored for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy decision at the end of this month, when some magnitude of an interest-rate cut is widely anticipated.
“A number in line with consensus probably delivers that July cut and I think that’s what the market wants to see,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, said on Bloomberg Television. “If we get a really strong number, I think risk could really come off the table.”
Elsewhere, Brazilian stocks surged and the real gained as a congressional committee voted to advance the pension-reform bill.
Here are some key events coming up:
- The U.S. jobs report is due Friday and is projected to show nonfarm payrolls rose by 160,000 in June, rebounding from 75,000 the month prior.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed as of 10:30 am in Tokyo.
- Topix Index rose 0.2%.
- Hang Seng Index was little changed.
- Shanghai Composite Index was flat.
- S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%.
- Kospi Index fell 0.1%.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.1%.
Currencies
- The Japanese yen was flat at 107.87 per dollar.
- China’s offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8755 per dollar.
- The euro was flat at $1.1282.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.
Bonds
- U.S. 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.94%.
- Australian 10-year yields were at 1.29%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $56.76 a barrel.
- Gold was little changed at $1,416.94 an ounce.