Asian shares battle to hang on to shaky recovery
Equities are under pressure amid speculation the Federal Reserve might be ‘one-and-done’ with US rate hikes
Sydney — Asian shares fought to sustain the slimmest of recoveries on Friday amid speculation the Federal Reserve might be “one-and-done” with US rate hikes, while oil fell anew as producers bickered over the details of an output cut. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.4%, though that followed a 1.8% drubbing on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2% and Chinese blue chips 0.3%. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 started firmer but were last down 0.1%. There was no escaping concerns over China-US relations after the arrest of smartphone maker Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou threatened to chill talks on some form of trade truce. Markets also face a test from US payrolls data later in the session amid speculation the economy was heading for a tough patch after years of solid growth. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell emphasised the strength of the labour market in remarks made late Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters forecast jobs rose by 200,000 ...
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