- Asian shares trade positive, with lower pace, during pre-NFP silence.
- RBA SOMP and Governor Philip Lowe confirmed no rate hike till at least 2024.
- Stimulus hopes, vaccine news keep buyers hopeful ahead of the key US data.
Equities in Asia remain upbeat, while also portraying a general pre-NFP trading lull, on Friday. Although feeds from Australia remained quite active, overall inactivity had to follow Wall Street’s gains while keeping buyers hopeful before the US Nonfarm Payrolls.
As a result, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rises 0.50% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rises 1.30% by press time. It should be noted that AstraZeneca’s likely approval from the Japanese drug regulator favored markets in Asia major off-late.
Australia’s ASX 200 follows Japan’s Nikkei 225 even as the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy (SOMP) portrayed sluggish recovery moves and defied the rate hike calls. Earlier in the day, RBA Governor Philip Lowe spoke the same while the final reading of December’s Retail Sales for Australia confirmed over 4.0% contraction versus 7.1% previous gains.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 stays behind in the run with 0.39% gains while stocks in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea played the same tune. Further, Indonesia’s IDX Composite bears the burden of downbeat GDP data but prints a 0.10% gain by the press time.
Also on the slow bull ride were India’s BSE Sensex and S&P 500 Futures. Though, it should be noted that the US markets closed strong on Thursday with S&P 500 and Nasdaq refreshing record-high closing level.
Considering the lack of major data/events during Asia, coupled with no major chatters from the US over the stimulus or market frenzy, the pre-NFP mood is likely to stay intact. Though US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s readiness to closely analyze markets in search of retail rush clues may probe the bulls before the key data.
Read: Nonfarm Payrolls Preview: Dollar needs a strong number to keep rallying
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