Stocks in Asia made a mixed start to the trading session on Friday after a lukewarm U.S. jobs report reduced the prospect of an imminent rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
US Jobs Data
The U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June, and payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling labor market. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% last month from 4.3% in May as workers left the labor force.
The figures challenged the narrative that the Fed remains on track to hike in the second half of this year, according to Westpac analysts. The tepid jobs data doused traders’ expectations of an imminent rate hike and raised the odds that the Fed will keep rates on hold until October.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
