Global Stocks Waver Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report

By Lauren Almeida 

-- Europe stocks edge down, Asian stocks mixed

-- Gold, crude prices slip

-- U.S. Treasury yields tick lower

European stocks were muted Friday after a mixed session in Asia, as U.S. markets prepared to return from a public holiday and ahead the U.S. jobs report for June later in the day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 slipped 0.2% at the open, with Germany's DAX down 0.1% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down 0.2%.

The yield on 10-year German bonds was little changed at minus 0.400%, from minus 0.402% Thursday when it fell below the European Central Bank's policy rate of minus 0.4% for the first time. Benchmark yields on Thursday fell across the continent as investors anticipated looser monetary policy from the likely new president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields moved slightly lower on Friday to 1.947%, from 1.952% on Wednesday before the Independence Day holiday.

Asian stock markets were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.1% while the Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei both gained 0.2%.

The U.S. dollar firmed, but could be vulnerable if nonfarm payrolls data are weak, as they are likely to be figure in to the Federal Reserve's decision making on interest-rate policy. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of its peers, rose 0.2%.

U.S. futures were slightly lower, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%.

In commodities, global oil benchmark Brent crude fell by 0.4% to $63.07 a barrel. Gold also fell 0.3%.

Write to Lauren Almeida at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2019 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT)

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