Asian markets are quiet ahead of US labor reports

Asian markets were little changed in early trading on Friday, as investors took a wait-and-see approach after Wall Street met late to snap a two-day losing streak.

The major US indices were down about 1% at one point early Thursday, but withdrew from their respective dives to end the day on positive territory. Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.1% for the biggest turnaround during the day since April 2018.

As recent economic data has sparked fears of recession, investors are apparently betting on another cut in interest rates by the Fed later this month. They will follow closely on Friday's work report on the labor department for September. Economists polled by MarketWatch predict that the United States allowed 1[ads1]47,000 new jobs last month.

"Increased hopes of further Fed cuts will appear to help stabilize markets by the end of the week," IG Jingyi Pan said in a report.

Japan's Nikkei

NIK, + 0.32%

was about flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index

HSI, -1.04%

slipped 0.5%. South Korea's Kospi

180721, -0.55%

were roughly flat, while Taiwan's benchmark indices

Y9999, + 0.17%

Singapore

STI, -0.31%

and Indonesia

JAKIDX, + 0.15%

was mixed. Australia's S & P / ASX 200

XJO, + 0.37%

increased 0.2%. Markets in mainland China remained closed for a holiday.

Among individual stocks, Central Japan Railway

9022, + 3.69%

and SoftBank

9984, + 0.12%

achieved in Tokyo trade, while Kobe Steel

5406, -1.56%

and Fast Retailing

9983, -0.62%

declined. In Hong Kong, real estate developer Country Garden

2007, + 2.57%

increased while Sands China

1928, -2.34%

and China Mobile

941, -0.91%

falls. Samsung Electronics

005930, + 0.84% ​​

and chip manufacturer SK Hynix

000660, + 1.01%

advanced in South Korea. In Australia, Virgin Australia

VAH, + 3.13%

and Qantas Airways

QAN, + 1.11%

increased.

On Wall Street, the S & P500 index

SPX, + 0.80%

increased 0.8% to 2,910.63. Dow Jones industrial average

DJIA, + 0.47%

gained 0.5% to 26.201.04. Nasdaq

COMP, + 1.12%

which is heavily weighted with technological stocks, climbed 1.1% to 7,872.26.

Investors struggle with uncertainty over the economy and impact of a US-Chinese customs war

President Donald Trump on Thursday urged China to investigate Joe Biden and son Hunter, prompting concerns from critics that he might take a possible Chinese response in consideration when negotiating an end to the trade war.

Others were hoping that a trade agreement would come out of self-preservation.

"The market continues to hope for the best while preparing for the worst that, at the very least, the economic carnage caused by the US-China trade war will be enough to bring about to execute a partial trade agreement," he wrote Stephen Innes, Asia-Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader, in a note. "Hope springs forever."

The Department of Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, says the non-manufacturing index fell to 52.6 from 56.4 in August, adding to investor concerns. Readings over 50 signal growth, but September figures are the lowest since August 2016.

Services account for more than two-thirds of the US economy and have been resilient in the face of the customs war that is pushing manufacturers.

The Fed has cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point twice a year in an effort to protect the economy from slowing growth abroad and the effects of the trade war. Investors are setting the odds that the Fed will cut interest rates again at the end of this month to over 88%, according to CME Group.

Benchmark U.S.

CLX19, + 0.72%

received $ 0.21 to $ 52.66 per barrel of e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 19 cents on Thursday to close at $ 52.45. Burnt crude oil

BRNZ19, + 0.78%

used to price international oils, advanced 22 cents to $ 57.93 per barrel in London. It gained 2 cents the previous session to $ 57.71.

dollar

USDJPY, -0.12%

fell to 106.77 yen from Thursday's 106.91 yen.