Markets subside ahead of US nonfarm payrolls data - 2.12.2022

The Dollar weakening is intact currently. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, slid 0.9% Thursday as the Department of Labor reported fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits over the last week than forecast while their number declined.

Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD accelerated their rising Thursday while the S&P Global’s final manufacturing PMI data showed euro zone factory activity downturn slowed in November. Euro is higher against the Dollar currently while Pound is down. USD/JPY accelerated its sliding while AUD/USD slowed its climbing yesterday with both the yen and Australian dollar higher against the Greenback currently.

US stock indexes futures are down currently ahead of the US November jobs report today at 14:30 CET as the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes ticked up to 3.547%. The three main stock benchmarks closed mixed Wednesday in the range of -0.6% to 0.1% on mixed data showing the US manufacturing sector contracted in November for the first time since mid-2020 while the growth of the personal consumption expenditures price index – a closely-watched inflation benchmark – slowed in October.

European stock market futures are down today after ending higher Thursday with tech shares leading gains. Asian stock indexes futures are mostly falling currently with Japan's Nikkei leading losses while China reported record high COVID infections on Thursday.

Brent is lower presently. Prices ended mixed on Thursday amid reports European Union governments have tentatively agreed to $60 a barrel as the price cap on Russian seaborne oil. The proposed price cap, with an adjustment mechanism to keep it at 5% below the market price of oil, is still higher than many expected. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 0.8% but is lower currently. Brent crude slipped 0.1% to $86.88 a barrel on Thursday.