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US jobs, Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings headline week ahead

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European shares steady, Nasdaq futures up 1%

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China-Japan dispute sends tourism shares down

(Recasts, updates prices for European market open)

By Lawrence White

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Stocks and bond yields held

firm on Monday, as markets paused for breath after a wobble in

tech stocks last week that could resume or reverse when $5

trillion chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) reports earnings on

Wednesday.

Investors also await headline U.S. jobs data due on

Thursday, albeit the report may do little more than confirm

earlier private market surveys showing the labour market had

slowed.

Europe's benchmark index of 600 big stocks rose

0.1% in subdued trading Monday morning, with Wall Street looking

set to follow the steady mood as S&P 500 futures ticked

0.6% higher and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1%.

Expectations for a U.S. interest rate cut in December have

fallen to less than 50% following policymakers sounding

hesitant. That has started to put pressure on stocks, especially

in the frothy and rates-sensitive technology sector.

CHINA-JAPAN TENSION SINKS ASIA STOCKS

In Asia trade, Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.2% with

tourism and retail stocks down heavily after China cautioned

citizens against visiting Japan.

Shares in department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi ( IMHDF )

, Muji parent Ryohin Keikaku ( RYKKF ) and cosmetics

maker Shiseido ( SSDOF ) notched declines of around 10%.

In Australia, a 0.6% fall for BHP after Britain's

high court found it liable for a dam collapse in Brazil held the

bourse flat. Hong Kong and China

indexes each fell by about 1%.

Data showed Japan's economy contracted for the first time in

six quarters due to a hit from U.S. tariffs. However, it was a

Nikkei report on a $110 billion stimulus spending plan that

weighed on bonds and sent 20-year yields to a

26-year high of 2.75%.

Some analysts see risks to the yen, too, if faith in fiscal

discipline is shaken, much as it was in Britain last week when

stocks, bonds and sterling tumbled on reports finance minister

Rachel Reeves was backing away from tax hikes.

Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields were steady at

4.1347% and Germany's 10-year, the benchmark for the

euro zone, likewise held firm at 2.715% after touching its

joint-highest since October 7 at 2.718%.

Wall Street indexes had on Friday recovered from a steep

selloff to notch a mixed close, with a small drop for the S&P

500 and modest gain for the Nasdaq.

NVIDIA EARNINGS, US JOBS SLOWDOWN IN FOCUS

The headline U.S. data release this week will be Thursday's

delayed September jobs report.

The figures may be too stale to be of much use, since

private surveys have already flagged a labour market slowdown.

"If all it does is confirm that, it's not going to change

the tune of the more hawkish Fed officials. They are more

worried about inflation upside risks, so CPI data for them will

be critical," said ANZ's head of research in Asia, Khoon Goh.

On Friday, rate cut expectations cooled when Kansas City Fed

President Jeffrey Schmid and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan

cast doubt on the need to cut next month.

Home Depot ( HD ), Target ( TGT ), Walmart ( WMT ) and

Nvidia ( NVDA ) report earnings in the U.S. this week and all eyes are on

the chipmaker, where the market's response is shaping as a test

of the sparkling rally.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares have soared about 1,000% since the launch of

ChatGPT in November 2022. This includes a year-to-date gain of

more than 40% that made Nvidia ( NVDA ) the first company to surpass $5

trillion in market value last month.

In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar was up slightly,

holding the euro just below $1.16 and creeping higher on

other majors.

Gold edged down to $4,072 an ounce, albeit the

precious metal has soared 55% this year from a price of $2,624

an ounce on January 1 as safe-haven demand, geopolitical

tensions and expectations of lower rates burnished its appeal.

Brent crude futures slipped 0.64% to $63.98 as

loading resumed at a Russian hub hit previously by a Ukrainian

attack.

Bitcoin, which has lately behaved as a barometer of

the mood on technology stocks, is nursing its largest weekly

fall since March, having lost more than 10% last week. It traded

up 2% on Monday at $95,517.