Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday, after Wall Street gained on the latest jobs data that raised hopes the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next week. Payroll processor ADP reported that private companies cut 32,000 workers in November, compared with 47,000 additions in October, and well below the 40,000-increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Markets are pricing in an 89% chance of a cut when the Federal Reserve meets on Dec. 9-10, significantly higher than rate-cut bets just a couple of weeks ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 1.29%, and the Topix index advanced 1.32%.
Stocks closed higher on Wednesday as the latest jobs data from ADP strengthened investors’ conviction that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 408.44 points, or 0.86%, to finish at 47,882.90. The S&P 500 traded up 0.30% to end the day at 6,849.72, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.17% to settle at 23,454.09. Payrolls processor ADP reported that private payrolls surprisingly declined by 32,000 in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 40,000 for the month. Despite the tough reading, traders were likely betting that the private job losses will lead the Fed to slash rates at its last meeting of the year on Dec. 10.
Gold edged above $4,210 per ounce on Thursday, staying near a six-week high as investors grew more confident of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week. November ADP data showed a surprising decline of 32,000 private sector jobs, well below expectations for a 10,000 gain and marking the third drop in four months. This represents the sharpest hiring slowdown since 2023, reinforcing concerns about a cooling US labour market. The report aligned with dovish signals from Fed officials, who emphasized the need to address slower job growth. In response, rate futures priced in nearly a 90% chance of a 25-bps cut next week. Investors now turn to delayed September PCE data on Friday for further clues on monetary policy. Adding some support was a geopolitical risk premium, as US and Russia concluded talks on the Ukraine war without any breakthroughs.
Oil prices moved slightly higher Thursday after Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure signalled potential supply constraints, and stalled peace talks tempered expectations of a deal restoring Russian oil flows to global markets, though weak fundamentals kept gains limited. Brent crude rose 14 cents, or 0.22%, to $62.81 by 0102 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 16 cents, or 0.27%, to $59.11. Ukraine hit the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia’s central Tambov region, a Ukrainian military intelligence source said on Wednesday, the fifth attack on the pipeline that sends Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The pipeline operator and Hungary’s oil and gas company later said supplies were moving through the pipeline as normal.
Japan’s central bank is caught in a bind as soaring government bond yields risk upending its policy normalization process. The Bank of Japan faces a stark choice: sticking with its policy of raising rates and risking even higher yields and further slowing an already sagging economy, or holding, even cutting rates to support growth that could accelerate inflation further. Japanese government bonds have been scaling new peaks over the past month. On Thursday, yield on the benchmark 10-year JGBs hit a high of 1.917%, surging to their strongest level since 2007. The 20-year JGB yield reached 2.936%, a level not seen since 1999, while 30-year hit a record high of 3.436%, LSEG data going back to 1999 showed.
As India reels under punitive U.S. tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil, New Delhi is all set to host President Vladmir Putin for a two-day visit, signalling its determination to deepen ties with Moscow. The visit indicates that India wants to “maintain its relations with Russia, especially at a time when it sees the United States as unreliable and China as hostile,” said Ian Bremmer, president and founder of political risk consultancy firm Eurasia Group. Putin will be in India on Dec 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit, with experts saying the two countries will extend their strategic and trade ties. Kremlin said last week that Putin’s visit was of “great importance” with the Russian president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to discuss the “scope of Russia-India special and privileged strategic partnership in politics, trade and economy,” among other issues.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday predicted that the administration still will be able to implement its tariff agenda regardless of whether it prevails in a pending case before the Supreme Court. Repeating assertions he had made prior to the high court hearing a month ago, Bessent cited several sections of 1962 Trade Act that give the president sweeping powers over import duties. “We can recreate the exact tariff structure with [sections] 301, with 232, with 122,” he said during an onstage interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit. Section 122 allows for tariff power up to 150 days, but 301 and 232 are less definitive on a time frame. Bessent also cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as providing broad tariff authority, though that is the use under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.
The U.S. labour market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. With worries intensifying over the domestic jobs picture, ADP indicated the issues were worse than anticipated. The payrolls decline marked a sharp step down from October, which saw an upwardly revised gain of 47,000 positions, and was well below the Dow Jones consensus estimate from economists for an increase of 40,000. Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers. However, establishments with fewer than 50 workers saw a decline of 120,000, including a drop of 74,000 among firms with 20 to 49 employees. The total loss was the biggest drop since March 2023.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed big cuts to strict fuel economy standards for passenger cars enacted under the Biden administration. “We are officially terminating Joe Biden’s ridiculously burdensome, horrible actually, CAFE standards that imposed expensive restrictions,” Trump said at the Oval Office, flanked by the CEOs of Ford Motor and Stellantis. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards date back to 1975 and have been tightened over the years to make vehicles more efficient. Former President Joe Biden had required automakers to increase the fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks to about 50 miles per gallon by 2031. These stricter standards were expected to stimulate the production and sale of electric vehicles in the U.S.
Microsoft pushed back on a report Wednesday that the company lowered growth targets for artificial intelligence software sales after many of its salespeople missed those goals in the last fiscal year. The company’s stock sank more than 2% on The Information report. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company has not lowered sales quotas or targets for its salespeople. The sales lag occurred for Microsoft’s Foundry product, an Azure enterprise platform where companies can build and manage AI agents, according to The Information, which cited two salespeople in Azure’s cloud unit. AI agents can carry out a series of actions for a user or organization autonomously. Less than a fifth of salespeople in one U.S. Azure unit met the Foundry sales growth target of 50%, according to The Information.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday and that the two men discussed chip export restrictions, as lawmakers consider a proposal to limit exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips to nations like China. “I’ve said it repeatedly that we support export controls, and that we should ensure that American companies have the best and the most and first,” Huang told reporters on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers were considering including the Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence Act in a major defense package, known as the National Defense Authorization Act. The GAIN AI Act would require chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to give U.S. companies first pick on their AI chips before selling them in countries like China.
Apple’s head of user interface design, Alan Dye, will join Meta, in a notable shift of executive talent in Silicon Valley. The iPhone maker confirmed Dye’s departure on Wednesday and Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the company prioritizes design and has a strong team. The statement said that veteran designer Stephen Lemay will succeed Dye. “Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” Cook said in a statement. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Wednesday social media post said that Dye would lead up a new creative studio that brings together design, fashion and technology. “We plan to elevate design within Meta,” wrote Zuckerberg, who did not say what specific products Dye will work on.
Salesforce reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday and topped Wall Street estimates with its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter. The stock rose 2% in extended trading. Revenue increased 8.6% from a year earlier in the fiscal third quarter, which ended on Oct. 31, according to a statement. Net income increased to $2.09 billion, or $2.19 per share, from $1.53 billion, or $1.58 per share, in the same quarter last year, boosted by a $263 million gain from strategic investments. The guidance implies revenue growth of between 11% and 12%, with about 3 points coming from Informatica, the data management company Salesforce acquired for around $8 billion in November. At the same time, the guidance factors in the continued shift to the cloud for MuleSoft and Tableau, as well as ongoing weakness from marketing and commerce products, Washington said.
Hyundai Motor and General Motors are set to be two of the greatest beneficiaries of lower U.S. tariffs on imports, including vehicles, from South Korea. The South Korean-based automaker is the largest U.S. importer of new vehicles from the country, followed by GM. Both automakers have paid billions of dollars in levies so far this year after President Donald Trump placed 25% tariffs on imported vehicles from South Korea and other countries in the spring. The Trump administration this past week confirmed plans to lower tariffs on certain products, including vehicles, to 15% from South Korea. A notice about the implementation of the trade deal was posted Wednesday on the Federal Register. Other countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom also have negotiated lower tariff rates with the Trump administration.
Snowflake forecast fourth-quarter product revenue above analysts’ estimates but falls short of lofty investor expectations for stronger growth, sending its shares down about 8% in extended trading. The cloud data analytics firm, whose shares have surged more than 70% this year, expects product revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.20 billion for the fourth quarter, representing 27% growth. The forecast was above analysts’ estimates of $1.18 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Snowflake expanded its partnerships to strengthen its agentic AI and cloud ecosystem, announcing a multi-year $200 million agreement with Anthropic to bring Claude models to its platform for advanced reasoning and secure multi-step analysis. The company also deepened ties with Accenture to help enterprises scale generative AI innovation, and unveiled new integrations with Amazon Web Services after surpassing $2 billion in sales on the AWS Marketplace this year.
Delta Air Lines said on Wednesday it expects a hit of about $200 million to its fourth-quarter pre-tax profit due to the U.S. government shutdown that ended last month. The impact translates to about 25 cents per share, the company said. In October, the Atlanta-based carrier had forecast an adjusted profit of $1.60 to $1.90 a share for the quarter through December. The 43-day government shutdown affected flight operations and left thousands of air traffic controllers and other staff to work without pay. The Federal Aviation Administration also mandated flight cuts at 40 major airports due to sa shortage of air traffic controllers. The longest federal government shutdown disrupted tens of thousands of flights and dented travel demand.