Global stock markets mixed ahead of US jobs report

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Friday as investors watched for U.S. jobs data for an update on how coronavirus flareups are affecting the world's biggest economy.

London opened flat while Frankfurt gained. Shanghai declined, Tokyo advanced and Hong Kong was unchanged.

Wall Street futures were little changed while investors awaited July employment data for signs of how renewed anti-disease curbs might affect hiring and wages. They were encouraged Thursday by a decline in U.S. unemployment claims.

Forecasters expect the U.S. economy, which is down about 6 million jobs from pre-pandemic levels, to have added about 870,000, an improvement over June's 850,000.

That could lend support to Federal Reserve board members who want to wind down economic stimulus through bond purchases that inject money into the financial system, Fawad Razaqzada of ThinkMarkets said in a report.

“If we get one or two really good jobs reports over the next couple of months, then the conditions for starting the normalization process will have been met for many of the Fed’s policymakers," Razaqzada said.

The FTSE 100 in London was unchanged at 7,120.60 in early trading while the DAX in Frankfurt opened 0.3% higher at 15,744.67. The CAC in Paris gained 0.5% to 6,781.19.

On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were off less than 0.1%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to a new high after last week’s unemployment claims fell by 14,000. The Dow gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.8%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,450.37 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was flat at 26,207.96. Chinese stocks have been hurt by a spate of anti-monopoly and data security campaigns against tech companies.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.3% to 27,799.67 after Japanese labor cash earnings edged lower in June for the first time in four months.

The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.2% to 3,268.56 and the ASX-S&P 200 in Sydney was unchanged at 7,512.10.

India's Sensex lost 0.4% to 54,275.16. New Zealand and Singapore gained while Bangkok and Jakarta declined.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 7 cents to $69.16 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 94 cents on Thursday to $69.09. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, gained 9 cents to $71.38 per barrel in London. It advanced 91 cents the previous session to $71.29.

The dollar rose to 109.81 yen from Thursday's 109.76 yen. The euro fell to $1.1809 from $1.1836.