On Tuesday, bond yields increased slightly while currencies and Asia's stock markets steadied as investors awaited key economic data that could influence U.S. interest rate decisions. The ten-year Treasury yield rose to 3.919%, and the two-year yield edged up to 3.935% as trading resumed in Asia following a U.S. holiday.
Recent upbeat spending figures have led markets to reduce expectations for a half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The upcoming U.S. ISM manufacturing survey and particularly the jobs data set to be released on Friday are anticipated to be crucial for the Fed's decision-making process. Analysts expect the ISM survey to show an improvement, projecting a reading of 47.5 for August, although this still indicates contraction.
The dollar remained stable, trading at 146.85 yen and $1.1063 per euro during the Asia session. Meanwhile, the MSCI Asia-Pacific index dipped 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.7%. In Hong Kong, shares of New World Development fell to a two-decade low after the company projected a $2.6 billion loss for the year ending in June.
In commodities, gold hovered around $2,494 an ounce after reaching a record high above $2,500 earlier in August. Oil prices faced challenges as concerns over demand weighed against geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with Brent crude futures slipping 0.5% to $77.13 a barrel.
Market participants are closely monitoring the upcoming economic indicators, particularly Friday's jobs report, which is expected to show an increase of 160,000 jobs and a decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.2%. The sentiment in the market suggests that a stronger jobs report could lead to a reassessment of the dollar's strength and influence risk assets moving forward.
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