Asian markets displayed a mixed performance on Friday following a steady Thursday on Wall Street, with investors eagerly awaiting the release of crucial U.S. jobs data later in the day.
U.S. futures and oil prices witnessed an uptick, indicating cautious optimism among investors.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 38,683.93. This slight dip followed the release of Friday’s data, which revealed a 0.5% year-on-year increase in household spending for April, marking the first uptick since February 2023. The data assumes significance as central bank officials gear up for a policy meeting next week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index experienced a decline of 0.6% to 18,369.83, while the Shanghai Composite index in China saw a modest increase of 0.2% to 3,053.36. China’s trade data for May indicated a faster-than-expected rise in exports at 7.6% year-on-year, although imports fell short of market forecasts.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.5% to 7,860.00, and South Korea’s Kospi surged by 1.2% to 2,720.97.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 remained largely unchanged on Thursday, hovering near its record high reached earlier in the week. It registered a marginal dip of less than 0.1% to 5,352.96. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 38,886.17, and the Nasdaq composite slipped by 0.1% to 17,173.12 after reaching its own record level.
However, some individual stocks faced significant challenges. Big Lots witnessed a sharp decline of 18.2% after reporting a larger-than-expected loss for the latest quarter. The company attributed its underperformance to subdued sales, with customers cutting back on non-essential spending.
Similarly, shares of another retailer, Five Below, fell by 10.6% as its profit and revenue for the last quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Joel Anderson pointed out that the company’s core lower-income customer base faced challenges, despite strong growth among higher-income customers.
The divide between consumers at different income levels has become increasingly apparent, with inflation posing a significant burden, particularly for lower-income households. This situation threatens to undermine the robust consumer spending that has buoyed the U.S. economy amid high interest rates.
Moreover, concerns about the job market emerged following a report on Thursday indicating a potential softening. Economists are anticipating a slight acceleration in hiring and average hourly wage gains when the U.S. government releases its monthly update on the job market later on Friday.
Meanwhile, in commodities trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil edged up by 15 cents to $75.70 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude, the international standard, increased by 5 cents to $79.92 per barrel.
Currency markets saw the U.S. dollar slipping to 155.28 Japanese yen from 155.68 yen, while the euro strengthened to $1.0891 from $1.0888.
