HONG KONG (AP) — World stocks were mostly lower on Monday after the U.S Job report Friday’s release came warmer than expected, while the euro fell after French President Emmanuel Macron Dissolved the National Assembly Following the backlash in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Far-right parties won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections on Sunday, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to call for snap elections. That pushed the euro to its lowest in nearly a month. The euro traded at $1.0766 from $1.0778.
The setback for the incumbent parties cast a shadow across the region. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 1.7% to 7,866.87, while Germany’s DAX was down 0.7% to 18,425.26. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,215.84 in early trade.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% and the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.2%.
Asian markets ended mixed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9% to 39,038.16. Economy of Japan It contracted at an annualized 1.8% pace in January-March, an upward revision from a previously reported 2% decline.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.8% to 2,701.17.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan were closed for the holiday.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The Dow fell 0.2%.
U.S. employers added 272,000 jobs in May, more than economists had expected since April. The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose for the second month in a row. Overall, this indicates continued strength in the job market, with some minor signs of weakness. A strong job market has supported consumer spending and the broader economy, but it complicates the Federal Reserve’s path to interest rates going forward.
“”We are back to the starting point where the central bank cannot justify a rate cut when jobs data is strong and inflation is not falling fast,” Swisscote Bank senior analyst Ibek Oskardeskaya said in a commentary.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.43% from 4.29% shortly before the jobs report. The two-year yield, which tracks the central bank’s expectations most closely, rose to 4.89% from 4.74% before the report.
Last week’s economic data indicated that the economy will cool. Output shrank in May, labor productivity wasn’t as strong as economists had thought and the latest reports showed job losses.
Central bank officials are expected to keep interest rates steady at their meeting later this week. After the jobs report came out, investors took even more bets off the table that the Fed will cut rates at its July meeting, according to data from the CME Group.
Wall Street has been tracking returns from retailers, which show customers are pulling back on non-essential items. Consumer spending is a key supporter of the economy, but stubborn inflation is weighing on consumers, especially those with lower incomes.
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In other transactions, benchmark U.S. crude oil was down 18 cents at $75.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
International benchmark Brent crude was down 11 cents at $79.51 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 156.86 Japanese yen from 156.83 yen.
