GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks set to fall as Wall St slips on recovery doubts
By Pete Schroeder
WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to pullback on Friday, following a dip on Wall Street as disappointingU.S. jobs data fanned concerns the economic recovery from thecoronavirus was losing momentum.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down0.49% in early trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 futureswere down 0.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futureswere down 0.44%.
The MSCI's global stock index was up 0.06%.
An unexpected increase in the number of Americans seekingjobless benefits weighed on markets across the board Thursday.The Labor Department reported initial unemployment claims roseby 13,000 to 861,000, injecting skepticism about how quickly theU.S. economy could rebound from the global pandemic.
At the same time, investors continued to eye the risks abouthigher inflation once the economy kicks back into gear and theupward pressure that might put on interest rates.
"With improved vaccination rollout, the world will be quickto normalize. With additional fiscal stimulus providing rocketfuel to the inflationary fire, it's hard not to think more ratespain will hit many asset classes," wrote Stephen Innes, chiefglobal markets strategist at Axi.
On Wall Street, stocks fell as investors stepped away fromlarge technology firms and a surprise jump in U.S. joblessclaims injected some skepticism into the market that had seenrecord highs earlier in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38%, the S&P500 lost 0.44%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.72%.
U.S. Treasury yields were down as well Thursday on waningrisk appetite. The benchmark 10-year yield, whichtouched 1.333% on Wednesday, its highest level in nearly a year,was last down 1.3 basis points at 1.2855%.
The dollar also eased following the weak U.S. jobs data. Thedollar index was off 0.33% at 90.601 following twostraight days of gains, while the euro and yenboth gained ground.
Oil markets saw some profit taking on Thursday, driving downprices after days of gains driven by a deep freeze across Texasthat weighed on production. Brent crude fell 41 cents,or 0.6%, to settle at $63.93 a barrel. U.S. West TexasIntermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 62 cents, or 1%, tosettle at $60.52 a barrel.
Copper surged nearly 3% to its highest since April 2012 asChinese investors returning from a week-long holiday addedimpetus to a rally that has almost doubled prices from lows lastMarch, when coronavirus worries peaked.
Spot gold was down 0.08% at $1,774.76 an ounce.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Sam Holmes)
