US jobs data lifts stocks as Fed rate hike bets fall

Global stocks moved higher on Monday after fresh US jobs data showed a weaker labour market, reducing expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in September.

US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, while job growth reported for May and June was also revised lower, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The figures raised concerns about a slowdown in the world‍‍`s largest economy but also gave investors hope that the Fed may keep borrowing costs unchanged.

Markets now put the chance of a September rate hike at around 43%, down from 64% a week earlier, according to Bloomberg. Investors are now looking ahead to US inflation data due later this week for further clues about the Fed‍‍`s next move.

Wall Street ended higher, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record. The Nasdaq gained more than 1% as technology stocks attracted fresh buying on expectations that lower interest rates would support the sector.

Asian markets followed the gains. Tokyo‍‍`s Nikkei rose 2%, helped by strong performances from chip-related companies including Kioxia, Tokyo Electron and Advantest. South Korean stocks also advanced, with SK hynix and Samsung leading gains.

Markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai, Wellington and Jakarta also moved higher.

National Australia Bank strategist Rodrigo Catril said investors viewed the jobs report as a major challenge to expectations of a near-term Fed rate increase.

However, he said the data did not guarantee that the central bank would shift to a softer policy.

“The report reduces the case that the labour market is adding inflation pressures,” Catril said, while noting that inflation remained a key concern for the Fed.

The dollar recovered some of its losses from Friday and continued to strengthen against the yen.

The US currency had fallen sharply earlier this month after US and Japanese authorities intervened to support the yen.

Oil prices, meanwhile, rose by about 1% as concerns over the Middle East pushed energy markets higher.

Iran‍‍`s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States met its demands.

The key waterway carries about one-fifth of the world‍‍`s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Iran has demanded an end to the war, the lifting of US sanctions and restrictions on its ports, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage, among other conditions.

The Revolutionary Guards said the blockade would continue until their demands were accepted, describing the strait as a “theatre of war”.

US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were continuing only at a limited level.

“We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,”

Trump said in an interview, adding that he believed the situation would eventually be resolved.