Stocks and bonds slid in Asia following Friday’s stronger-than-expected US jobs data, while oil climbed to a four-month high as a fresh wave of American sanctions on Russia threatened to crimp supplies.
MSCI’s index of regional equities slipped for a fourth day as the US payroll numbers damped bets on further Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
US equity futures pointed to further losses on Wall Street after the S&P 500 fell 1.5% on Friday. Japanese markets are shut for a holiday, meaning there’s no trading in cash Treasuries in Asia.
The downward pressure in Asia markets is tied to Friday’s payrolls data, said Lynn Song, chief greater China economist at ING Bank NV.
“Hawkish developments from the US jobs data also adds extra pressure on emerging markets, as markets have gone from pricing in three-to-four cuts prior to Trump’s election victory to just one cut now.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 1.1%, with benchmarks in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea leading declines among major regional markets.
