Asian markets mostly gain after Wall St tumbles following poor US jobs
report
[August 04, 2025] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Asia advanced Monday after Wall Street had its
worst day since May following the release of weak U.S. jobs data.
Markets in Asia had already reacted on Friday to U.S. President Donald
Trump’s announcement late Thursday of sweeping tariffs on imports from
many U.S. trading partners. The new import duties are set to take effect
on Thursday.
The signs of trouble on the U.S. economic horizon have raised hopes that
the Federal Reserve may relent and cut interest rates, analysts said.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.2%, bouncing back from bigger losses, to
40,297.91.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.8% to 24,691.53, while the Shanghai
Composite index climbed 0.6% to 3,580.84.
In South Korea, the Kospi surged 1.2% to 3,155.64.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,662.50.
Investors' worries about a weakening U.S. economy deepened after the
latest report on job growth in the U.S. showed employers added just
73,000 jobs in July. That is sharply lower than economists expected. The
Labor Department also reported that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000
jobs off May and June payrolls.
“The labor market, once a pillar of resilience, is now looking more like
a late-cycle casualty, as soft data begin to replace soft landings in
market discourse,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a
commentary.
U.S. futures edged 0.4% higher, however, early Monday.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its biggest decline since May 21 and
its fourth straight loss. It closed at 6,238.01, posting a 2.4% loss for
the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2% to 43,588.58, while the
Nasdaq composite fell 2.2% to finish at 20,650.13.
Internet retail giant Amazon fell 8.3%, despite reporting encouraging
profit and sales for its most recent quarter. Technology behemoth Apple
fell 2.5% after also beating Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts.
Both companies face tougher operating conditions because of tariffs,
with Apple forecasting a $1.1 billion hit from the fees in the current
quarter.
Trump’s decision to order the immediate firing of the head of the
government agency that produces the monthly jobs figures raised concern
over whether there might be interference in future data.
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Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate
between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange
dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea,
Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 The surprisingly weak hiring numbers
led investors to step up their expectations the Fed will cut
interest rates in September.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.21% from 4.39% just
before the hiring report was released. That’s a big move for the
bond market. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely
tracks expectations for Fed actions, plunged to 3.68% from 3.94%
just prior to the report’s release.
The Fed has held rates steady since December. A cut in rates would
give the job market and overall economy a boost, but it could also
risk fueling inflation, which is hovering stubbornly above the
central bank’s 2% target.
An update on Thursday for the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation
showed that prices ticked higher in June, rising to 2.6% from 2.4%
in May.
The Fed held rates steady again at its most recent meeting this
week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been pressured by Trump to cut the
benchmark rate, though that decision isn’t his to make alone, but
belongs to the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Businesses, investors and the Fed have been operating under a cloud
of uncertainty from Trump’s tariff policy.
Companies have been warning investors that unpredictable policies,
with some tariffs already in effect while others change or get
extended, make it difficult to plan ahead. Walmart, Procter & Gamble
and many others also have warned about import taxes raising costs,
eating into profits and raising prices for consumers.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S, benchmark crude oil bounced
back to gain 22 cents to to $67.56 per barrel. Brent crude, the
international standard, added 13 cents to $69.80 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 147.78 Japanese yen from 147.26 yen. The
euro weakened to $1.1567 from $1.1598.
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