A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill ending the longest U.S. government shutdown on record with a late-night ceremony at the Oval Office, following a planned dinner with Jamie Dimon and top Wall Street executives.
It’s unclear just how quickly full government services and operations will resume.
Data publication is top of the agenda in markets, with September’s jobs report likely to be one of the first catch-up indicators released and investors anticipating it might support a rate cut, following soft figures in recent private surveys.
Some data gaps are likely to be permanent, however, with the White House saying October’s employment and Consumer Price Index reports might never be released.
Stocks took a breather in Asia, with broad indexes drifting higher and Japan’s Topix hitting a record – following records for the Dow, FTSE and pan-European STOXX 600 – an indication of a small rotation from AI.
Rising gold prices also took a pause. [MKTS/GLOB]
Japan’s yen, meanwhile, has been sliding close to intervention territory. A brief blip above 155 per dollar on Wednesday drew a finance ministry reminder that authorities were watching closely.
It kept on the strong side of that level in Asia trade, though it did sag to a record low of 179.49 per euro. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wants rates to stay low and has asked for close coordination with the Bank of Japan.
On Thursday, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signalled his goals aligned with the government’s focus on reflating growth, telling parliament he was aiming for moderate inflation accompanied by wage rises.
In Australia, a surprise surge in October employment has markets dialling back rate cut bets, while an ex-dividend fall in ANZ Bank shares dragged down the index.
A slew of earnings is due from the close of trade in Asia onwards, with Tencent offering a possible read on China’s consumers and updates from China’s SMIC watched for an insight into U.S.-China technology tensions.
Results at German industrial giant Siemens will show how it has been navigating tariffs and a patchy global economy.
Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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