The dollar rallied on the reading as investors lowered their expectations the Fed will reduce interest rates by 50 bps for a second consecutive time when it meets later this month
Asian markets rose Monday after a strong US jobs report soothed any concerns about the country’s economy, while the dollar held gains with traders scaling back bets on another big interest rate cut.
Oil prices dropped as traders await Israel’s response to Iran’s strike last week amid ongoing fears about a region-wide war in the Middle East.
All three main indexes on Wall Street soared Friday on data showing a forecast-beating 254,000 US jobs were created last month and the unemployment rate declined.
The figure was the best in six months and sharply higher than numbers in July and August, which had triggered concerns that the country could be heading for a recession.
The dollar rallied on the reading as investors lowered their expectations the Fed will reduce interest rates by 50 bps for a second consecutive time when it meets later this month.
The September payrolls print was meaningfully better than expected, according to Taylor Nugent, a senior markets economist at National Australia Bank.
It was going to take more bad news for the (board) to match the extent of cuts in near term pricing, he said.
But instead the data was supportive of (its) assessment that the US labour market is not primed for imminent, sharper deterioration and may even be holding up a little better than expected, Nugent added.
Inflation data later in the week will be closely watched by traders hoping for more of an idea about the Federal Reserve’s decision-making.
The stronger dollar against the yen boosted Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei 225 jumping nearly 2%, while Hong Kong extended its recent rally fuelled by China’s raft of economic stimulus measures.
There were also gains in Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Manila.
Crude prices edged down after a volatile day Friday that saw them surge 5% at one point before paring the gains.