AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) โ Asian stocks closed mostly lower Friday after solid gains in Europe overnight, while U.S. markets were closed for the July Fourth holiday.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose above 41,000 points on Friday morning but then retreated from Thursday's record close of 40,913.65. The index lost just over a point to close at 40,912.37 points after the government reported that consumer spending fell by a larger-than-expected 1.8% in May.
The dollar fell to 160.75 Japanese yen from 161.26 yen. U.S. futures rose slightly and oil prices fell.
The United States government will give its Full update A report was released on Friday on the number of workers employers added to their payrolls during June. Traders are closely watching these figures in the hope that they show that the economy is slowing enough to show that inflation is under control, but not so much that it falls into recession.
That would increase the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates that have been held at two-decade highs, easing pressure on the economy by making borrowing less expensive.
The jobs report is expected to show employers added 190,000 jobs, a solid gain, though down from the robust 272,000 in May.
โThe upcoming June jobs report will play a crucial role in shaping expectations for near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Markets are currently anticipating a reasonable likelihood of two rate cuts this year, in contrast to the Fedโs median forecast of just one reduction in 2024,โ Anderson Alves of Activ Trades said in a commentary.
In other Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1% to 17,858.64 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 2,947.96. The Shanghai benchmark index has been trading near its lowest levels since February.
Seoul's Kospi rose 1.3 percent to 2,862.23 after Samsung Electronics forecast its second-quarter operating profit would rise more than 15-fold from a year earlier to 10.4 trillion won ($7.52 billion).
As NvidiaTaiwan's TSMC, Tokyo Electron and other computer chip makers Samsung are benefiting from a rebound in the semiconductor industry as applications using artificial intelligence take off.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 7,822.30 points, Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.1% and Bangkok's SET rose 0.2%.
With U.S. markets closed on Thursday, attention turned to Britain, where the FTSE 100 future rose 0.2% early Friday as an exit poll and partial returns indicated Britain's Labour Party was heading for a landslide victory in a parliamentary election.
Britain has seen a turbulent few years under Conservative rule that have left many voters pessimistic about their countryโs future. The UKโs exit from the European Union, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine, have hit the economy hard. Rising poverty and cuts to state services have led to complaints about โbroken Britainโ.
The pound rose to $1.2774 from $1.2760 at Thursday's close. The euro rose to $1.0828 from $1.0812.
On Thursday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.9% to 8,241.26 points and the German DAX rose 0.4% to 18,450.48 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.8% to 7,695.78 points.
In a holiday-shortened trading session on Wall Street Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to hit a record high for the 33rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to top its own record.
In other trading Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 23 cents to $83.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 35 cents to $87.08 a barrel.
