Asian shares were poised to climb Monday after a chaotic week for financial markets ended Friday with a rebound in US regional banks and a rally in risk assets. Solid jobs data has tempered fears of a US recession, improving sentiment that saw Treasuries fall and Wall Street’s favorite volatility gauge, the VIX, snap a four-day surge.
The advance on Wall Street halted the S&P 500’s longest losing streak since February, with the gauge climbing 1.9%. The KBW Bank Index of financial heavyweights rebounded from its lowest since September 2020.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.1%, with strong earnings at Apple Inc. helping lift the megacap tech space as the world’s most-valuable company climbed almost 5%.
Most major currencies were little changed in early trading on Monday after a gauge of dollar strength ended last week down 0.6%. The greenback advanced 0.3% versus the yen.
Bond yields rose in Australia and New Zealand following the higher Treasury yields Friday.
The US jobs data showed hiring and worker pay gains accelerated in April in signs of labor-market resilience and inflationary pressures in the face of headwinds.
The strong figures also increase chances the Federal Reserve will hold rates higher for longer, and potentially keep the door open to an 11th straight hike in June.
Rates on swap contracts linked to Fed meetings — which on Thursday briefly priced in a cut in July — moved higher, to levels consistent with a stable policy rate until September — followed by at least two quarter-point cuts by year-end.
