financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
Stocks on guard for payrolls, Tesla tumbles as Trump-Musk bromance sours
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Stocks on guard for payrolls, Tesla tumbles as Trump-Musk bromance sours
Jun 5, 2025 7:42 PM

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares were subdued on Friday as investors hunkered down for the all-important payrolls report, while Tesla suffered huge losses on the very public feud between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

A run of soft economic data this week has markets wary of a downside surprise in the monthly payrolls print due later in the day, which would add to fears of stagflation while piling pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease policy in a hurry.

Tesla shares bounced 0.8% in after-hours trading after tumbling a whopping 14% overnight to wipe off $150 billion in market value. That came after Trump threatened to cut off government contracts to Elon Musk's companies as the once close relationship turned into a bitter public feud.

Nasdaq futures were flat and S&P 500 futures inched up 0.1%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.1% on Friday but it is still set for a weekly rise of 2.2% to hover just below an eight-month peak.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% but is set for a weekly drop of 0.7%.

South Korea's KOSPI is closed for a holiday but was up 4.2% this week to nearly 11-month tops as the newly elected President Lee Jae-myung planned an emergency package to boost the flagging economy. The won has also gained 2% this week to an eight-month peak.

Chinese blue chips were flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.3% as a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping offered little clarity to ease ongoing trade tensions.

"The U.S.-China agreement to de-escalate tensions, and the recent phone call between Trump and Xi, shows both countries have an economic 'pain threshold'," said Luke Yeaman, chief economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"This takes some severe downside scenarios off the table, but tensions will remain high and further bouts of escalation are likely...we see little prospect that a comprehensive US-China trade agreement will be settled by 14 August."

WAIT FOR PAYROLLS

Weaker-than-expected labour market data, including a 47% year-on-year jump in Challenger layoffs and a significant downside surprise in ADP's private payrolls, have dampened expectations for the payrolls report.

Forecasts are centred on a rise of 130,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.2%.

Any unexpected weakness could bring the next U.S. rate cut forward and trigger a huge rally in Treasuries. Futures imply scant chances of a rate cut until September, which is about 93% priced in, with another move likely to come in December.

Yields on the benchmark ten-year Treasuries were flat at 4.3925%, having risen 3 basis points overnight to bounce away from a one-month low.

"We expect payrolls to lose additional momentum in May, printing a below-consensus 110,000," said analysts at TD Securities in a note to clients.

"Markets have recently been singularly focused on tariffs and deficits, with macro taking a back seat in recent weeks. Our forecast may not be sufficient to catalyze this revamped focus on macro, but we expect downside surprises to generate a larger market reaction."

The dollar was flat against its major peers on Friday but was set for a weekly drop of 0.7% on soft economic data. [FRX/]

The euro got some support and hit a six-week top of $1.1495 overnight after the European Central Bank cut rates but signaled that it was nearing the end of its year-long policy easing cycle. Investors have given up on a move in July, with the final move mostly to come in December.

In commodities markets, oil prices were slightly lower but were headed for weekly gains on supply concerns. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.1% to $65.29 a barrel but was up 2.1% for the week. [FRX/]

In precious metals, gold prices climbed 0.3% to $3,362 an ounce. For the week, they are up 2.2%.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens higher on commodity boost
CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens higher on commodity boost
Mar 13, 2024
March 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main index opened higher on Wednesday, boosted by energy and materials stocks, while investors await more U.S. economic data this week to adjust their expectations for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. At 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.32 points, or 0.26%, at 21,888.34. ...
CANADA STOCKS-Commodities lift TSX as investors eye fresh rate cut cues
CANADA STOCKS-Commodities lift TSX as investors eye fresh rate cut cues
Mar 13, 2024
* TSX up 0.7% * Commodity-linked shares gain * Copper prices hit seven-month high (Updated at 10:14 a.m. ET/ 1414 GMT) By Purvi Agarwal March 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main index advanced for a third straight session on Wednesday, boosted by commodity-linked stocks, while investors await more U.S. economic data this week to adjust their expectations for the Federal Reserve's...
RBC Capital Markets Says Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Fund's Share Price Up 3% Week Over Week
RBC Capital Markets Says Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Fund's Share Price Up 3% Week Over Week
Mar 13, 2024
10:23 AM EDT, 03/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- RBC Capital Markets said Tuesday that Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Fund (U-UN.TO)'s share price rose 3% week over week to $27.39. RBC said the shares moved to a discount to net asset value of 10.2% this week from a 15.6% discount last week. According to RBC, uranium spot prices declined to $91 per...
EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX rise on commodity gains; Chilean peso leads on copper rally
EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX rise on commodity gains; Chilean peso leads on copper rally
Mar 13, 2024
* Bank of Mexico's Mejia eyes rate cut, but cautious on inflation * Brazil's VP sees dollar between 4.9-5 reais as competitive * Argentina clears over $52 billion in massive bond swap * FX up 0.3%, stocks up 0.6% By Ankika Biswas March 13 (Reuters) - Currencies of most resource-endowed Latin American countries gained against a stalling dollar on Wednesday,...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved