SHANGHAI, Apr 6 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The U.S. dollar advanced on Wednesday, recovering from two-month lows hit the previous session, as investors lightened their short positions to book profits ahead of the all-important U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
The dollar posted its third daily loss against the yen, falling 0.4% to 131.15.
The underlying trend though for the dollar remained tilted to the downside and Wednesday’s U.S. private sector jobs numbers affirmed that. The jobs data supported the view that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise rates much further.
On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment report showed U.S. private employers hired fewer workers than expected in March, suggesting a cooling labor market. Private employment increased by 145,000 jobs last month, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing by 200,000.
Stock futures were near flat Wednesday night as investors considered what the latest data suggested about the health of the broader economy.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 12 points, trading near flat. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.07%, and Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.13%.
During regular trading Wednesday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite performed the worst of the three major indexes, losing nearly 1.1%. The S&P 500 dipped about 0.3%. The Dow bucked the trend, rising 0.2% in part because of outperformance from health-care stocks.
Those moves come as investors digest the latest data released this week to see if the labour market has shown signs of weakening. The ADP private payrolls report released Wednesday showed job growth slowed in March.
Oil prices settled largely unchanged on Wednesday, despite greater-than-expected draws in U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles, as the market weighed worsening economic prospects against expectations of U.S. crude inventory declines and plans by OPEC+ producers to reduce output.
Brent crude futures settled up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $84.99 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude ended 10 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $80.61 a barrel.
Safe-haven gold touched its highest in one year on Wednesday as recent U.S. economic data fanned fears of a slowdown and spurred bets the Federal Reserve may ease up on hiking.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,019.99 per ounce after rising to its highest since March 2022 at $2,031.89 earlier. U.S. gold futures traded flat at $2,036.40.
European stock markets fell for a third straight session on Wednesday with uncertainty over the global economic outlook at the fore.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed 0.16% lower, with sectors and major bourses pointing in different directions.
