San Francisco Frontiers - Dollar dazzles after hot US jobs data

Wall Street nevertheless mostly moved higher at the opening bell, buoyed by tech stocks and the silver lining of the jobs data pointing to the US economy avoiding a recession.

The US labour market smashed expectations last month in a surprise hiring pick-up, adding 353,000 jobs in January and the Department of Labor revising December's figure sharply higher.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent for a third straight month.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the jobs report "is apt to be construed by the Fed as a report that, on balance, fits its current base case for seeing a March rate cut as unlikely".

US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell earlier this week dampened expectations of an early cut to interest rates, although disappointment in the markets was tempered by the knowledge that rates are all but certain to come down this year.

While the data may be disappointing for equity investors hoping for a quick cut in borrowing costs, on the other hand the data demonstrates the continued resilience of the US economy.

"Today’s number will reinforce the current market consensus that we are in-store for a 'soft landing', with no imminent threat of recession," said Neal Keane, head of global sales trading at ADSS.

But the prospect of higher interest rates for longer sent US bond yields and dollar climbing, with the greenback rising by more than one percent against the yen.

- Meta and Amazon shine -

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq index was boosted by Meta and Amazon blowing through expectations in their latest quarterly results.

Shares in Meta jumped 20 percent after the tech titan behind Facebook and Instagram reported a profit of $14 billion in the final three months of last year, beating analyst forecasts as revenue climbed to $40.1 billion in the quarter.

Amazon also impressed investors with sales up to a more-than-expected $170 billion in the last quarter of 2023, after a record-beating holiday season. Its shares rose 5.0 percent at the start of trading.

Apple, maker of iPhone, meanwhile reported sales rose slightly in the final three months of 2023 but worries surrounding China cast a pall on the news. Its shares fell 3.0 percent.

European equities market rose, with Frankfurt's DAX setting a new intraday record.

On the downside in Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong fell, with traders still worrying about the state of China's economy and the lack of strong measures to provide stimulus.

The property sector is of particular concern, especially after the liquidation by a Hong Kong court this week of troubled developer Evergrande, which is wallowing in more than $300 billion of debt.

Analysts also pointed to traders selling before the Lunar New Year break.

- Key figures around 1430 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,417.30 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 4,911.84

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent 15,385.88

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,637.67

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,613.55

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 16,958.83

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,661.78

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 36,158.02 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 15,533.56 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 2,730.15 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0800 from $1.0874 on Thursday

Dollar/yen: UP at 147.89 yen from 146.42 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2659 from $1.2746

Euro/pound: UP at 85.31 pence from 85.29 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $72.91 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $77.90 per barrel

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Q.Nelson--SFF