Stocks Set for Muted Start; Oil in Focus on OPEC+

(Dec 2): Stocks in Asia were set for a muted start to December as investors weighed data on China’s economy that showed a bright spot for manufacturing and the latest news on the trade front. The Australian dollar rose.

Futures pointed marginally higher in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The S&P 500 Index dipped on Friday. On U.S.-China trade: the Global Times reported that China’s government wants tariffs to be rolled back as part of the phase one trade deal with the U.S. Oil was in focus after Iraq said OPEC and its allies will consider deeper production cuts.

A gauge of China’s manufacturing sector jumped unexpectedly in November, signaling a recovery amid a stabilizing global economy. That comes ahead of data this week on American manufacturing and employment. Meantime, Black Friday hit a record $7.4 billion in U.S. online sales.

In Hong Kong, clouds of tear gas returned over the weekend as police and protesters clashed. U.S. support for the demonstrators has threatened to weigh on trade talks after China’s foreign ministry warned again last week of unspecified retaliation for President Donald Trump’s signing of the bill.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

China’s Caixin PMI manufacturing on Monday.
U.S. ISM manufacturing and construction spending on Monday.
Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is scheduled to be priced on Thursday.
Friday brings the U.S. jobs report, where estimates are for nonfarm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in November.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% on Friday.
Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.1%.
Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.2%.
Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.1%.

Currencies

The yen was flat at 109.54 per dollar.
The offshore yuan held at 7.0281 per dollar.
The Aussie rose 0.1% to 67.71 U.S. cents.
The pound slid 0.1% to $1.2912.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries ended Friday at 1.78%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5.1% to $55.17 a barrel Friday.
Gold rose 0.5% tp $1,463.98 an ounce on Friday.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets