BEIJING — Asian stock markets gained Monday after weak U.S. hiring in August fueled expectations the Federal Reserve might postpone withdrawal of economic stimulus that has boosted stock prices.
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP,
The Kospi 180721,
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.1% on Friday, but still was near a record high, after the Labor Department reported U.S. employers added 235,000 jobs in August, barely one-third of the consensus forecast of 730,000.
Investors appeared to welcome that, because the Fed might be prompted to postpone a possible reduction in bond purchases that pump money into the financial system. Officials have indicated the Fed board make a decision about that at a meeting this month but wants to be sure a recovery is established and say employment is a key factor.
“The weaker-than-expected jobs gains drastically reduce the chance of Fed tapering” at the September meeting, Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.
The weak U.S. hiring data also prompted concern the spread of the coronavirus’s more contagious delta variant is hurting economic growth. It was well below the monthly average of more than 900,000 jobs added in June and July.
On Friday, the S&P 500 SPX,
The Fed has indicated it might decide at its September meeting when to start winding down its $120 billion a month in bond purchases that pump money into the financial system.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLV21,
The dollar USDJPY,
