SYDNEY: Asian equity markets were mixed today as bonds climbed following a Wall Street Journal report that US Special Counsel Robert Mueller was said to have impaneled a grand jury in the ongoing Russia probe. Investors awaiting the monthly US jobs report got a shock from news that Mueller, who is probing Russia’s interference in 2016 US elections as well as possible collusion with the Trump campaign, has impanelled a grand jury. Australian government bonds yields slid in line with the slump in Treasury and bund yields, while a stronger yen weighed on Japanese stocks.
The Australian dollar fell to the session’s low after the country’s central bank cut its growth forecast in its quarterly statement on monetary policy. Geopolitics took centre stage again ahead of the closely watched US employment report that may provide clues on the strength of the world’s largest economy and the Federal Reserve’s next policy move. A largely expectation-topping earnings seasons rolls on, with Toyota Motor Corp among the largest companies due to update investors on progress.
The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its forecast economic growth by half a percentage point this year to 2 per cent to 3 per cent, and a quarter-point in the first half of next to 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, saying the Aussie dollar “had a modest dampening effect” on GDP growth. The US jobs report for July may show the economy is on a steady trajectory and the labour market is staying tight, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Consensus expects an increase of 180,000 in non-farm payrolls, after a gain of 222,000 in June, and a decline in unemployment to 4.3 per cent from 4.4 per cent. The data will also signal if income gains are enough to keep consumer spending ticking.
