Beijing, Aug. 5 (BNA): Asian stock markets rose on Friday ahead of the US job market update while the Federal Reserve considers whether further interest rate hikes are needed to cool rising inflation. US futures and oil prices rose.
Investors have been eyeing the monthly US employment figures for signs of weakness that could lead the Federal Reserve to decide on the need to mitigate aggressive interest rate increases to cool inflation.
Other data indicates that the economy is slowing, which will reduce pressure on prices to rise, the AP reports.
Investors fear that the Federal Reserve and other central banks in Europe and Asia will raise interest rates to tame multi-decade inflation, which could derail economic growth.
The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate twice by 0.75 percentage points this year, three times its usual margin and the largest increase since the early 1990s.
Federal Reserve officials have tried to allay fears that the United States may enter a recession by pointing to a strong labor market as evidence that the economy can bear higher borrowing costs.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits last week rose by a modest 6,000 from the previous week to 260,000.
First-time orders generally reflect layoffs, but forecasters still see the labor market as one of the strongest parts of the economy.
The dollar rose to 133.14 yen from 132.91 yen on Thursday. The euro fell to $1.0237 from $1.0249.
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