Asia markets tick up as Fed comments, jobs data point to rate cuts

SINGAPORE: Asian stocks moved higher in early trading on Thursday as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials soothed investor nerves at a time of heightened concerns over global growth and a selloff in bond markets.

Australian shares advanced 0.8%, recovering from their biggest one-day sell-off since April, while the Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gave up early gains and was last down 0.2%, dragged lower by losses in China.

The Shanghai Composite fell 1.6% and was on track for a third day of declines after a report in Bloomberg News that financial regulators are preparing cooling measures for the market.

Financial markets have started September in a downbeat mood, with a sell-off in longer-dated bonds dousing investor confidence ahead of critical US non-farm payrolls on Friday.

An auction of 30-year Japanese government bonds later today will test global debt markets’ appetite for super-long fixed income.

Overnight, the selloff in bond markets slowed, but concerns about the fiscal health of major economies from Japan to Britain and the United States kept long-dated borrowing costs pinned near multi-year highs.

Investors got a timely boost to sentiment after Federal Reserve officials, including Governor Christopher Waller, expressed support for rate cuts in the months ahead.

Furthermore, President Donald Trump’s pick to fill an open seat on the Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Miran, said he would work to preserve the central bank’s independence.

US stock futures were up 0.1% as investors took heart from the Fed’s dovish comments, drawing buyers into beaten-down equities.

“We got one or two days of weakness but the dip-buyers have stepped in,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.

“Many people are looking for this weakness in September to be a buying opportunity”, with economic growth still resilient, he added.

“This is a good backdrop for equities.”

Market bets of a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting later this month were also supported by weaker-than-expected job openings data in the latest “JOLTS” report on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” painted a mixed picture of US economic health, which appeared to underscore monetary policymakers’ concerns. Analysts at ING described the report as quite “bleak” and noted that it was “littered with tariff warnings on prices.”

Traders are now pricing in a 96.6% probability of a cut to interest rates at the Fed’s September meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 4.2226% compared with its US close of 4.211% on Wednesday.

The two-year yield, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed funds rates, touched 3.6187% compared with a US close of 3.612%.

The dollar was flat against the yen at 148.13, remaining within the trading range it has sat in since the beginning of August.

The European single currency was down 0.1% at $1.1652, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.1% at 98.217.

In commodities markets, Brent crude dipped 0.5% to $67.29 a barrel.

Precious metal prices nudged lower, with spot gold off 0.8% at $3529.94 per ounce after hitting a record on Wednesday.