SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Stock markets were mixed Friday and Wall Street was expected to dip on the open as investors look ahead to the U.S. jobs report and watch trade talks between the United States and China.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent to 7,533 while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent to 5,499. Germany’s DAX added 0.4 percent to 12,746. Futures augured a lackluster start on Wall Street with Dow and S&P futures both dipping 0.2 percent.
US JOBS: The jobs report the government will issue Friday is expected to show that the economy continues to power ahead. Employers are forecast to have added 190,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of economists by the market data firm FactSet. That gain would be nearly double the 103,000 jobs that were added in March. The unemployment rate is expected to have dipped to 4 percent after holding at 4.1 percent, a 17-year low, for six straight months.
TRADE TALKS: At the end of the two-day talk, Chinese and American officials reached consensus in some areas, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. But China’s state media said “big differences” remain on some matters. A U.S. official said the Trump administration wants China to reduce the trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion by the end of 2020. The dispute has deepened as China has stepped up efforts to overtake Western industry leaders in advanced technologies, especially for semiconductors. Analysts have predicted that chances for a breakthrough from the meeting appear slim given the two sides’ intensifying rivalry in strategic technologies, where China lags behind the U.S.
ASIA’S DAY: Asian markets finished lower. South Korea’s Kospi sank 1 percent to 2,461.38 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.3 percent to 29,926.50. The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.3 percent to 3,091.03 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 percent to 6,062.90. Japan was closed for a public holiday. Stocks rose in Taiwan but fell in Singapore and Indonesia.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 35 cents to $68.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 37 cents to $73.99 per barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 108.99 yen from 109.21 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1966 from $1.1989.
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