AMSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.24 per cent, while the Nikkei fell 1 per cent as the Japanese yen flirted with two-week highs. — AFP picSINGAPORE, June 5 ― Asian stocks rose today, while the dollar was steady as a softening US labour market firmed up bets of an interest rate cut in September from the Federal Reserve ahead of a crucial payrolls report this week.
China's services activity in May accelerated at the quickest pace in 10 months while staffing levels expanded for the first time since January, a private sector survey showed, pointing to sustained recovery in the second quarter. Benchmark 10-year note yields were at 4.3376 per cent in Asian hours, after hitting an almost three-week low of 4.314 yesterday following the jobs data.
“If inflation remains sticky, it might not prompt a rate hike, but it would force the market to re-price how much easing a patient Fed can deliver in 2024 with time running out,” said Daragh Maher, head of FX strategy for the US at HSBC. Meanwhile, futures pointed to a subdued open for India's Nifty 50 index after sliding nearly 6 per cent yesterday, their worst session in four years, with foreign investors selling roughly US$1.5 billion worth of shares.