Asian stocks snap six days of gains, bonds steady

Asian stocks declined at the open Friday, breaking their longest winning streak since January, as uncertainty over interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve curbed risk appetite.

Stocks in Japan and Australia fell while South Korea inched higher. The S&P 500 inched to a new record Thursday - its 10th in 19 days - driven by tech gains that papered over a broader weakness as most stocks in the benchmark dropped. Treasuries held losses with yields on the policy-sensitive 2-year bond trading at 3.91%. The dollar edged up, building on a Thursday gain.

The S&P 500 has surged 28% from its April lows as investors grew optimistic that President Donald Trump’s tariff war won’t hurt the economy and corporate earnings as initially feared. However, the latest strong jobs data weakened expectations for imminent cuts by the Fed ahead of the central bank’s meeting next week. Traders slightly pared bets, projecting less than two reductions this year, after jobless claims fell for a sixth straight week.


“There are still few signs of major cracks in the labor market,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “And if that picture remains intact, the Fed has one less reason to cut interest rates.”

Technology stocks rose Thursday, driven by robust earnings from Alphabet Inc. that kept alive expectations the boom in artificial intelligence will continue to the benefit of US tech giants. Nvidia Corp hit a fresh high.

US stock futures opened higher early Friday after Intel Corp. gave an upbeat sales forecast.

Sill, trading desks at firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citadel Securities are telling clients to buy cheap hedges against potential losses in US stocks as a slew of risks loom over the market’s record advance.

Meanwhile, president Trump said firing Fed chair Jerome Powell was not “necessary,” after touring the central bank’s headquarters.

In Japan, the cost of living in Tokyo cooled for a second month on the back of some temporary factors even as food inflation stayed hot.

Elsewhere, Thai assets be in focus after the country’s F-16 fighter jets struck military sites in neighboring Cambodia as a dispute between the nations extended.