Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures clawed back ground on Friday, May 8, after Thursday's late-session selloff dragged the cash index toward 49,500. Overnight dealing through Asia and Europe held a tight range just above 49,600, with traders reluctant to commit ahead of the US jobs report.
TD Securities’ FX strategists Jayati Bharadwaj and Howard Du note that stronger United States (US) payrolls produced only a modest reaction in the US Dollar (USD), as markets focus more on inflation than labor data.
The United States (US) created 115K new jobs in April, much better than the 62K anticipated by markets. The unemployment rate in the same month was confirmed at 4.3%, as expected. The Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report came in better than anticipated, yet the US Dollar (USD) eased with the news.
Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad notes that efforts by the Trump administration to narrow the US trade deficit are structurally negative for the Dollar via balance of payments dynamics.
ING’s Francesco Pesole notes that the US Dollar (USD) has rebounded as hopes for a swift US‑Iran deal fade, with fresh military incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and a restart of US escorts weighing on risk sentiment.
UBS' Chief Economist Paul Donovan comments that United States (US) April employment data are unlikely to show war effects yet, with moderate job gains and stable earnings anticipated.