Markets rise ahead of release of key US jobs data

Asian shares gained while currencies moved in familiar ranges in thin trading ahead of the Easter weekend, as investors awaited the release of key US employment figures later on Friday for clues on when the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose about 0.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 0.6 per cent higher. Wall Street logged modest gains ahead of the holiday after two losing sessions. Major European markets will be closed from Friday to Monday for the Easter holiday, reopening on Tuesday.

Most US markets will be closed on Friday when the non-farm payrolls report will be released. It is expected to show an increase of 245,000 jobs in March, following a gain of 290,000 in February.

Chinese shares added 0.8 per cent, shrugging off mixed HSBC/Markit China Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) figures. They showed the services sector expanded in March but growth in employment and new business fell to their lowest in at least eight months, in yet another sign that the weak Chinese economy may need more policy aid.

"Chinese manufacturers and service providers both managed only modest increases in output at the end of the first quarter," said Annabel Fiddes, economist at Markit, adding that data "suggests that relatively weak client demand had dampened growth across both sectors".

US data on Thursday showing an unexpected fall in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits raised hopes for another strong labour reading, but not all strategists were convinced that the consensus expectation would be met.

A weaker-than-expected jobs report would prompt investors to increase bets that the Fed might hold off on raising interest rates until late this year. "I believe that the market is positioned for a weak number, so the pain trade - the big shock to the market - would be a higher-than-expected figure," Marshall Gittler, head of global FX strategy at IronFX Global, said in a note to clients.

Reuters