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US stock futures traded mixed in early trading on Thursday, with bullish moves in some big tech names supporting the Nasdaq. Investors continue to monitor bond market developments ahead of Friday's crucial nonfarm payrolls report.
The global bond market is extending its historic rally this week, pushing benchmark 10-year bond yields to the lowest levels since June. The move marks a 90 basis point (0.9 percentage point) drop since late October on bets that the Federal Reserve, as well as other central banks around the world, have reached the end of their rate-raising cycles. rates.
Parallel to those measures, however, there is corresponding concern that some central banks, including the Federal Reserve, may have left their intentions to cut rates too late. That could stoke the risk of recession even if they are able to control persistent inflationary pressure linked to the global pandemic.
This, in turn, has kept stock gains subdued this week, and looks set to keep them in check again on Thursday. Investors are watching weak industrial data from Germany and oil prices, which are hovering around the lowest levels since June, as signs of ongoing weakness in the global economy.
Global Markets Overview
Brent crude contracts for February delivery last rose 73 cents in the session to $75.03, closing below $75 for the first time in five months. WTI futures for January are trading around $70.
In the bond market, benchmark 10-year bond yields inched higher to 4.142% in overnight trading, while 2-year bonds settled at 4.64%.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index fell 0.27% to 103.867, following the yen's biggest daily gain since January following comments on ending Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's zero interest rate policy .
On Wall Street, futures contracts linked to the S&P 500, which remains stable during the month, indicate a drop of 2 points at the opening, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggest a decline of 55 points.
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In overseas markets, European shares fell in early trading in Frankfurt, with the Stoxx 600 falling 0.3%. The data confirmed that the regional economy, and the largest economic bloc in the world, contracted 0.01% during the third quarter.
Overnight in Asia, China's first export expansion in six months in November failed to reverse the long decline in domestic stocks. It also caused the MSCI index excluding Japan to fall 0.42% at the close of the day.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 1.76% following the 1.5% jump in the yen, which was last marked at 144.93 against the dollar.
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