NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) – Asian stocks were due to follow Wall Street gains on Thursday as investors cheered on signs that the world economy was emerging from hibernation due to coronavirus, although trade is likely already low that new concerns about Hong Kong keep investors cautious.
Also adding to the market apprehension is the June US employment data to be released later in the day, which will show whether the world’s largest economy can sustain its fragile recovery as new cases accelerate. of COVID-19 in various southern states.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.06% more, while Australian S&P / ASX 200 futures were up 0.71% and Japanese Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.4%.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expect private employers to show 2.9 million new jobs in June, which would follow a surprising increase in May. However, casting some doubt on that projection was less than expected job growth in the ADP report on Wednesday.
“The weaker-than-expected ADP report suggests some downside risk to the consensus,” said Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Wall Street ignored the failure and ended trading higher on Wednesday after key economic indicators showed a rebound in Chinese manufacturing activity as it recovers from the pandemic and steep declines in European manufacturing activity slowed.
In Hong Kong, the futures of the Hang Seng index lost 0.42%. Markets in the Asian financial center closed Wednesday, the same day that city police arrested more than 300 people protesting new laws enacted by China to eliminate dissent.
Those events have raised concerns about China’s already strained relations with its main western trading partners, particularly the United States.
The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation that would penalize banks doing business with Chinese officials who implement a national security law.
On Wall Street, however, the focus was on positive data. The worldwide MSCI stock indicator gained 0.45% and the S&P 500 rose 0.50%.
The surge in manufacturing activity also pushed oil prices higher in anticipation of higher demand, while gold and the dollar fell as encouraging reports prompted investors to take more risks.
Brent crude rose 76 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $ 42.03 per barrel. US crude rose 55 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $ 39.82 a barrel.
Improved sentiment weighed on the Safehaven dollar with the dollar index falling 0.265% and the euro rising 0.03% to $ 1.1253.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.05% to 107.42 per dollar, while the British pound last traded at $ 1.2477, an increase of 0.06% on the day.
US gold futures settled 1.1% lower at $ 1,779.90.
US Treasury bonds were affected by positive economic data and minutes from Federal Reserve meetings, which indicated that control of the yield curve would not come soon.
The benchmark 10-year yield rose 2.9 basis points to 0.6824% on Wednesday.
Report by Imani Moise; Editing by Sam Holmes
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