Market Roundup
• US payrolls +178k v forecast 175k, 142k previous; jobless rate at 4.6%, 9-year low.
• Average hourly earnings -0.1% v forecast 0.2%, avg workweek steady at 34.4 hrs.
• NY Fed’s Nowcast sees Q4 growth 2.67% v 2.5% Nov 25.
• Canada adds jobs in Nov, central bank not seen changing rates.
• Oil steadies after big OPEC-driven weekly rally, focus shifts to implementation and impact of OPEC deal.
• Stocks, USD ease as Fed rate hike, Italy referendum & Austria vote loom.
• Bank of England's Haldane warns against hasty rate hike, comfortable w/no bias.
• S&P holds South Africa's rating at BBB-, downgrades local debt.
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
• 22:30 Australia AIG Services Index Nov 50.50-previous
• 00:30 Australia Business Inventories* Q3 forecast 0.2%, 0.30%- previous
• 00:30 Australia Gross Company Profits* Q3 forecast 3%, 6.90%- previous
• 00:30 Australia Company Profits Pre-Tax* Q3 18.70%- previous
• 00:30 Australia ANZ Internet Job Ads Nov 1.00%- previous
• 01:45 China Caixin Services PMI Nov 52.40- previous
• 05:00 Japan Consumer Confidence. Index* Nov 42.30- previous
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)
• 12:45 Japan- BoJ Gov Kuroda BoF Gov Francois Villeroy de Galha will speak at the Europlace Forum
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.0600 levels and currently trading at 1.0662 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.0681 and hit lows at 1.0584 levels. Euro rose against the dollar on Friday as the dollar declined despite upbeat nonfarm payrolls data as investors avoided making big bets on the dollar ahead of Italy's referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs last month after increasing by 142,000 in October, the Labor Department said on Friday. The solid employment gains likely reflect growing confidence in the economy, which has been marked by rising consumer spending and inflation. The unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point last month, hitting its lowest level since August 2007, because more people found work as well as dropped out of the labor force. The drop in unemployment occurred mostly among men. The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of currencies despite a solid rise in U.S. jobs data, with investors taking a cautious stance before Italy's referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday. The euro was little changed against the dollar at $1.0661, ahead of the Italian referendum over the weekend.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.2670 levels and currently trading at 1.2722 levels. It reached session high at 1.2722 and dropped to session low at 1.2624 levels. Sterling rose against the dollar on Friday as investors' fears over a "hard Brexit" that would see Britain lose access to the European Union's single market eased. Investor concerns eased further on Friday, when a pro-EU Liberal Democrat candidate won a parliamentary seat previously held by the ruling Conservative Party on Friday, in a vote considered a protest against a 'hard Brexit'. The pound jumped to a three-month high against the single currency and a two-month high against the dollar on Thursday, staying close to those levels on Friday. Sterling was up 0.7 percent at around $1.26 by 1640 GMT, having climbed over 1.5 percent over the course of the week. Data released on Friday showing growth in Britain's construction industry unexpectedly touched an eight-month high in November, while its costs rocketed at the fastest pace since 2011.
USD/CAD is supported at 1.3250 levels and is trading at 1.3285 levels. It has made session high at 1.3301 and lows at 1.3252 levels. The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as domestic jobs increased for the fourth straight month, supporting the view that the Bank of Canada will remain on hold at next week's announcement. The Canadian economy added 10,700 jobs in November, which bucked analysts' forecasts for a loss of 20,000 jobs after two months of growth and reinforced expectations that the Bank of Canada will keep interest rates unchanged next week and for all of 2017. It is likely that the Bank of Canada will be more upbeat next week due to higher oil prices, stronger economic data and greater investor optimism about the economic outlook since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. U.S. crude oil futures settled up 62 cents at $51.68 a barrel, posting its biggest weekly gain since early 2011, with a rise of 12 percent. The Canadian dollar ended at C$1.3283 to the greenback, or 75.28 U.S. cents, stronger than Thursday's close of C$1.3317, or 75.09 U.S. cents.
AUD/USD is supported around 0.7400 levels and currently trading at 0.7448 levels. It hit session high at 0.7467 and made session lows at 0.7422 levels. The Australian dollar strengthened against US dollar on Friday as greenback dipped against Australian peer despite data showing a solid rise in U.S. jobs that made it almost certain that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month, with investors taking a cautious stance before Italy's referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday. The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate dropped to a more than nine-year low of 4.6 percent. The jobs growth was largely in line with expectations of economists. Analysts said the data generally did not alter expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates later this month and twice next year. The Australian dollar held steady at $0.7456, following three consecutive sessions of gains. The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies fell 0.3 percent to 100.7. It was down 0.8 percent for the week.
Equities Recap
European shares ended weaker after slipping earlier on Friday to a three-week low as investors traded cautiously before a referendum on constitutional reform in Italy that could trigger fresh political uncertainty in the region.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.2 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.16 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 0.1 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.5 percent.
U.S. stocks ended little changed on Friday after a payrolls report did little to alter expectations for an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this month and bank stocks cooled.
Dow Jones closed down by 0.12 percent, S&P 500 ended d up 0.04 percent, Nasdaq finished the day up by 0.08 percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. Treasury yields eased from multi-month and multi-year highs on Friday as traders bought U.S. government bonds on the heels of their worst month in nearly eight years in anticipation of an Italian referendum, while the impact of U.S. jobs data was short-lived.
The benchmark 10-year yields jumped to 2.4393 percent before dipping back to a session low of 2.374 percent later in morning trading. U.S. 30-year yields hit a session low of 3.036 percent after touching a 16-1/2-month high of 3.156 percent Thursday.
Commodities Recap
Gold edged higher on Friday, climbing for the first time in four sessions as it shrugged off data showing rising U.S. job numbers, with analysts saying that an expected rise in interest rates had already been priced in.
Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,174.03 an ounce by 2:33 p.m. EST (1933 GMT), bouncing up from Thursday's lowest level since Feb. 5 at $1,160.38. It was on track to record a fourth straight week of losses.
U.S. gold futures settled up 0.7 percent at $1,177.80 per ounce.
Oil prices rallied for their best week in at least five years on Friday, steadying above $51 a barrel, following OPEC's decision to cut crude output to rein in a global glut that has weighed on prices for more than two years.
Front-month Brent crude futures ended the session up at $54.46 a barrel, up 52 cents, 0.96 percent. The contract rose more than 15 percent for the week, its biggest gain since early 2009.
U.S. crude settled at $51.68 per barrel, up 62 cents or 1.21 percent and notched its biggest weekly gain since early 2011, with a rise of 12 percent.
