Monitors showing stock index prices and the exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the US dollar can be seen after the New Year’s Eve ceremony marking the opening of trade in 2022 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), in the middle of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2022. REUTERS / Issei Kato

HONG KONG, Jan. 7 (Reuters) – Asian stocks posted two days of losses on Friday, climbing as investors waited to see whether U.S. jobs data due later today would strengthen the need for a faster rise in US interest rates.

The largest MSCI Asia-Pacific equity index outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.3%, boosted by a 1.2% gain in the Australian benchmark (.AXJO) where Bank stocks were in the foreground, although the Japanese Nikkei (.N225) gave up early gains to slide 0.66%.

Futures on the Nasdaq rose 0.5% in earlier Asian exchanges before relinquishing some gains to trade over 0.25%, and S&P 500 e-mini stock futures were up 0 , 17%.

One of the main drivers for the market this week has been the rise in US yields following the release of the Federal Reserve’s December minutes, said Kerry Craig, global markets strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

The minutes, released on Wednesday, showed that a tight job market and relentless inflation could force the US central bank to raise rates more aggressively this year.

“While we saw yields drop a bit at the end of the session, equity futures have gone up, and now we’re seeing that as Asia opens up as well,” Craig said.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 1.7211% after hitting 1.7530% overnight, its highest since April 2021, up sharply from its 2021 close of 1.5118 %.

The two-year yield, which is closely tied to inflation expectations, came in at 0.8656% just after the overnight high of 0.886%.

Craig of JPMorgan said investors were waiting for U.S. non-farm wage data due later Friday and inflation data due next week, to see if it would strengthen or undermine the case for a move. faster rate hike in the United States.

Higher yields hurt tech stocks this week as investors turned to stocks of companies doing well in a higher rate environment, like banks.

MSCI’s Asian benchmark, which places heavy weight on several big names in tech, is down 1.1% this week, though tech stocks managed to rally on Friday, especially South Korea Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS). Samsung stock rose 1.4% after the company reported its best quarterly operating profit in four years. Read more

Overnight, US stocks slipped slightly in line with the rise in yields, but the losses were more subdued than the steeper declines at the start of the week.

In currency markets, higher yields meant the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, rose 0.63% this week.

On Friday, the greenback maintained its gains against most majors while advancing 0.1% against the yen which was at 115.94 per dollar, given Tuesday’s five-year high of 116.34.

Oil prices have recovered, which some analysts have linked to news of Russian paratroopers arriving to quell unrest in Kazakhstan, although production in the OPEC + producing country remains largely unchanged until here. Read more

Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $ 82.48 a barrel, and US crude rose 0.6% to $ 79.96.

Spot gold rose 0.15% to $ 1,791.85 an ounce after hitting a two-week low at $ 1,788.25 on Thursday, as higher U.S. Treasury yields hurt the market. demand for non-interest bearing metal.

Reporting by Stella Qiu in Beijing, Kanupriya Kapoor in Singapore and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

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