Asia stocks reach a 7-month high, US job data at the centre of attention now

As investors hailed the idea of an impending rate-easing cycle spearheaded by major central banks, Asian equities surged to a seven-month top on Friday and headed towards their strongest week in almost two months, maintaining pressure on the dollar and Treasury rates.

As hopes grow that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may finally remove negative interest rates this month, Japan continues to be an anomaly. As a result, the yen gained strength and the yield on domestic bonds increased.

The European Central Bank (ECB) set the stage for a possible rate decrease in June, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed a similar outlook for the trajectory of U.S. interest rates. As a result, global market indexes surged to record highs in the previous session.

As traders increased their bets on impending Fed rate cuts, the two-year U.S. Treasury yield—which often indicates near-term rate expectations—fell to a one-month low of 4.4940% on Friday.

In light of January's unexpectedly strong employment data that shocked markets, attention is now focused on the eagerly awaited nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected later on Friday.

The employment market data on Friday will be released ahead of the U.S. inflation report for next week.

Meanwhile, the dollar continued to decline due to predictions of an impending Fed easing cycle, and it reached a two-month low against the euro on Friday.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters,com)