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Share prices opened lower on Friday, as markets await the US non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to influence the US central bank’s next interest rate move.
The US jobs report for November will be published at 1330 GMT. Consensus, as cited by FXStreet, expects non-farm payroll employment to increase by 200,000.
A stronger-than-expected figure, though good for the US economy, could be bad for stock prices, as it would be thought to encourage a larger interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve at its December meeting. The policy-making Federal Open Market Committee meets next on December 13 and 14.
In a speech on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted the central bank may slow its rate hikes from the current pace of 75 basis points per meeting as soon as this month. ‘The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting,’ Powell said in a speech at the Brookings Institution think tank.
Commented Lloyds Bank about the November jobs report: ‘The October report showed a solid rise in employment, a small move up in the unemployment rate to a still very low 3.7% and signs that, while wage growth has levelled off, it remains uncomfortably high compared with the 2% inflation target.
‘We expect a similar outcome for November indicating no significant easing in pressures. That would seem consistent with the Fed‘