BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks closed mostly lower Friday after solid gains in Europe overnight, while U.S. markets were closed for the July Fourth holiday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose above 41,000 points on Friday morning but then retreated from Thursday’s record close of 40,913.65. The index lost just over a point to close at 40,912.37 points after the government reported that consumer spending fell by a larger-than-expected 1.8% in May.
The dollar fell to 160.75 Japanese yen from 161.26 yen. U.S. futures rose slightly and oil prices fell.
The U.S. government will release its full update on Friday on how many workers employers added to their payrolls during June. Traders are closely watching the figures in hopes that they will show the economy is slowing enough to show inflation is under control, but not so much that it slips into recession.
That would increase the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates that have been held at two-decade highs, easing pressure on the economy by making borrowing less expensive.
The jobs report is expected to show employers added 190,000 jobs, a solid gain, though down from the robust 272,000 in May.
“The upcoming June jobs report will play a crucial role in shaping expectations for near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Markets are currently anticipating a reasonable likelihood of two rate cuts this year, in contrast to the Fed’s median forecast of just one reduction in 2024,” Anderson Alves of Activ Trades said in a commentary.
In other Asian trading early Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 17,858.64 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 2,947.96. The Shanghai benchmark has been trading near its lowest levels since February.
Seoul’s Kospi rose 1.3 percent to 2,862.23 after Samsung Electronics forecast its second-quarter operating profit would rise more than 15-fold from a year earlier to 10.4 trillion won ($7.52 billion).
Like Nvidia, Taiwan’s TSMC, Tokyo Electron and other computer chip makers, Samsung is benefiting from an uptick in the semiconductor industry as applications using artificial intelligence take off.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 7,822.30 points, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.1% and Bangkok’s SET rose 0.2%.
With U.S. markets closed on Thursday, attention turned to Britain, where the FTSE 100 future rose 0.2% early Friday as an exit poll and partial results indicated Britain’s Labour Party was headed for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections.
Britain has seen a turbulent series of years under Conservative rule that have left many voters pessimistic about their country’s future. The UK’s exit from the European Union, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have hit the economy hard. Rising poverty and cuts to state services have led to complaints about “broken Britain.”
The pound rose to $1.2774 from $1.2760 at Thursday’s close. The euro rose to $1.0828 from $1.0812.
On Thursday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.9% to 8,241.26 points and the German DAX rose 0.4% to 18,450.48 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.8% to 7,695.78 points.
In a holiday-shortened trading session on Wall Street Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to hit a record high for the 33rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to top its own record.
In other trading Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 23 cents to $83.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 35 cents to $87.08 a barrel.