European stocks edged up 0.3% after market open, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was broadly flat, weighed by a 0.6% dip for insurer Aviva after it said it was set to buy rival Direct Line in a £3.6 billion (US$4.6 billion) deal.
Investors were training their sights on the crucial US payrolls report due later in the day. US stock futures were broadly flat ahead of Wall Street open.
Forecasts are centred on a rise of 200,000 jobs in November, rebounding from a soft 12,000 gain in October when the result was impacted by hurricanes and strikes. Futures markets put a 67% chance on a rate cut by the Fed on Dec 18.
“It’s going to be very closely watched … If we don’t get a big surprise around that jobs number, I think the market will pretty much take the fact the Fed will cut again in its meeting,” said Shaneel Ramjee, senior investment manager at Pictet.
The Aviva swoop on Direct Line in Britain was further evidence of a pick-up in dealmaking across markets, Ramjee added. “Throughout both Europe and the US, these deals are starting to get done, and that just means more activity in the economy,” he said.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed earlier losses to be up 0.2% thanks to a rally in Chinese shares, making up for investor caution around political ructions in South Korea.
Chinese shares had climbed to three-week highs as investors scooped up technology shares ahead of a top-level policy meeting next week that will set the agenda and targets for China’s economy next year.
The risk premium investors demand to hold French debt rather than German Bunds dropped to a new two-week low on Friday, after President Emmanuel Macron said he would appoint a new prime minister soon to get a 2025 budget approved by parliament.
The euro had rallied on Thursday, on market relief that France had avoided a more volatile political outcome for now. The euro dipped 0.2% on the day at $1.057275 and was set to be broadly unchanged on the week.
Bitcoin reversal
Bitcoin, which hit the US$100,000 mark for the first time as investors bet on a friendly US regulatory shift, ran into profit-taking. It tumbled as far as US$92,092 and was last down 0.7% on the day at US$98,334.
“This spike in volatility over the last 24 hours has the hallmarks of a classic blow-off top,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.
“While we don’t see this as the end of the Bitcoin bull run, it does signal we are entering a consolidation phase in the days/weeks ahead.”
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar index gained 0.2% to 105.87, but remained pinned near three-week lows.
Treasuries were mostly steady on Friday. The two-year yield held at 4.1662%, while 10-year benchmark Treasury yields were flat at 4.1857%.
Oil prices dipped as the decision from OPEC+ to delay a planned hike in output to April highlighted concerns about weak demand. Brent crude futures fell 0.5% to US$71.71, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also dipped 0.5% to US$67.97 a barrel.
Gold prices inched higher on Friday, up 0.4% to US$2,641 per ounce, but were headed for a second straight week of declines.