The first Friday of the month is always an important day for the markets, as data on the US labor market is released (today at 14.30pm). In Asia, cautious optimism prevails, fueled by anticipations that see an increase in non-agricultural employees employed above 200 thousand.
Yesterday's data on the US economy were mixed (new unemployment benefits on the rise, further rise in the PMI index for manufacturing) and today, in addition to the data on jobs, also those on industrial orders are expected. The stock market index in Asia (MSCI Asia Pacific) shows +0,2% in the early afternoon. Tokyo (-0,4%) gives back part of yesterday's gain and the yen is stable.
The euro is also little changed (1,386 against the dollar), while gold remains weak (1284 $/ounce) and oil remains below 100 (WTI – Brent 107,7). Among the raw materials, the slide of copper continues: the Chinese slowdown (China is the first copper consumer in the world) plays a big role in the weakness of this metal.
