TOKYO, July 8 ― Asian shares tracked overnight Wall Street gains in early trading today as fears of an economic slowdown cooled and sterling began to claw back recent losses following British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to resign.
All three major US indices made gains overnight on positive signals from Federal Reserve officials. Governor Christopher Waller called recession fears “overblown,” while St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard said he saw a “good chance” of a soft landing for the economy. The latest indicator of the health of the US economy is due later in the day with the release of US non-farm payrolls data. The consensus expectation is for 268,000 jobs to have been added in May.
“In our view, GBP is likely to soon unwind its gains given the weakening prospect of the UK economy,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency strategist Carol Kong.