Asia Morning Dec 7

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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Asia Morning: US Stocks Advance Despite Mixed NFP Report

On Friday, the three major U.S. indices closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 248 points (+0.8%) to 30218, S&P 500 added 32 points (+0.9%) to 3699 and Nasdaq 100 gained 61 points (+0.5%) to 12528. Energy (+5.4%), Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (+2.8%) and Materials (+2.0%) sectors led the rally.


S&P500 Index Daily Chart:

Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

Approximately 93% of stocks in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their 200-day moving average and 72% were trading above their 20-day moving average. The VIX Index dropped 0.49pt (-2.3%) to 20.79.

Regarding U.S. economic data, nonfarm payrolls increased 245,000 in November (+460,000 expected), while jobless rate fell to 6.7% (6.7% expected) from 6.9% in October, improving for a seventh straight month.

European stocks were broadly higher. The Stoxx Europe 50 climbed 0.6%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.6%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.9%.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield bounced to 0.9659%, the highest level since March, from 0.9063% Thursday. 

WTI crude futures rose 1.4% to $46.26 a barrel. Oil field services firm Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rotary rigs in the U.S. increased to 323 as of December 4 from 320 in the prior week.

Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $1,839 an ounce, halting a three-day rebound.

On the forex front, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index remained subdued near two-and-a-half-year low of 90.70, amid mixed nonfarm payrolls report.

EUR/USD eased 0.2% to 1.2120. It is reported that the European Central Bank is considering extending its pandemic bond-buying program by 12 months into mid-2022. Meanwhile, official data showed that German factory orders grew 2.9% on month in October (+1.5% expected).

GBP/USD marked a day-high of 1.3541 before closing 0.1% lower at 1.3437. Over the weekend, U.K. Environment Secretary George Eustice said the talks the European Union are "in a very difficult position" as the E.U. added a whole load of additional demands lately.

USD/JPY rebounded 0.3% to 104.14.

USD/CAD slid 0.6% to 1.2780, posting a four-day decline. Government data showed that the Canadian economy added 62,100 jobs in November (+20,000 jobs expected), while jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 8.5% (9.0% estimated).

Other commodity-linked currencies weakened against the greenback. AUD/USD lost 0.2% to 0.7421 and NZD/USD dipped 0.4% to 0.7045.
Related tags: DJIA Forex Indices SPX 500 Nasdaq

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