US shares rose, Asian stocks mixed as focus shifts to payrolls
Stock in the US markets rose while Asian shares were mixed as investors await for the release of the upcoming data on the American labor market.
Shares in Hong Kong and South Korea climbed while Japan’s slipped in the market index today. The dollar edged lower, while oil recorded a seven-week high on supply constraints.
Meanwhile, the yen pared some of its overnight gains, gold shifted a little, and bitcoin dropped below $42,000, its lowest since September.
An overtly hawkish stance from the Fed has roiled financial markets at the start of a new year, with investors reassessing how to price assets in an environment of rising interest rates.
In a phone interview, Ally chief markets and money strategist Lindsey Bell said that they know that the “Fed was going to be a creator of volatility” at the start of the year.
Despite that, Bell said that “the good news is that today things seem to be stabilizing a little bit after yesterday’s knee-jerk reaction.”
Investors are also looking for signs that vacancies in the US are being filled. Current estimates from the US Labor Department show that there are 405,000 newly opened jobs in the country last December.
