Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, February 6:
1. Dollar rebounds after post-jobs slide
The U.S. dollar bounced back on Monday, as investors pondered how the latest U.S. jobs report will affect the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.3% at 99.99 by 5:55AM ET (10:55GMT). It fell to a more than two-month low of 99.19 last week.
U.S. employers added 227,000 workers in January, the biggest gain in a month since September. However, unemployment edged up to 4.8% as more people looked for work, and the pace of wage growth slowed.
The weak wage growth was seen as weakening the case for near-term interest rate hikes.
Fed fund futures priced in a less than 10% chance of a rate hike in March, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. However, odds of a June increase was seen at more than 60%.
2. Global stocks mixed
U.S. stock market futures pointed to a muted open on Monday morning, as investors eyed corporate earnings from the likes of Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), Sysco (NYSE:SYY) and 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX), while continuing to assess President Donald Trump’s policies.
Meanwhile, European equities were mixed in choppy morning trade, as investors digested fresh corporate earnings.
Earlier, in Asia, markets ended higher, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing up around 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.3%.
3. French bond yields climb; Fillon presser ahead
French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon will launch a fightback on Monday against the fake-job scandal that threatens his campaign when he speaks at his campaign headquarters at 15:00 GMT (10:00AM ET), a source close to him said.
Fillon has come under mounting pressure to quit the race over the past fortnight since a newspaper alleged his wife was paid hundreds of thousands of euros in state money for work she may never have done.
Meanwhile, French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen unveiled a manifesto pledge to take her country out of the euro over the weekend, underscoring political risk in the world’s biggest single market.
The yield on the 10-year French government bond climbed to 1.135%, the most since November 2014.
4. Gold at 12-week peak on haven demand
Gold prices gained on Monday, rising toward the highest level in about 12 weeks as investors sought the perceived safety of the yellow metal amid growing concerns over political risks around the globe.
Investors continued to pile in to gold as they eyed political risk elements with President Donald Trump's administration on the back foot over its immigration and other policies.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, traders are monitoring developments in countries where anti-establishment movements are gaining traction ahead of elections.
Gold touched a session peak of $1,227.00 a troy ounce, the most since November 16. It was last at $1,225.45 in early New York hours, up $4.55, or around 0.4%.
5. China services sector grows but at a slower pace
Growth in China's services sector remained robust in January as companies reported a solid increase in orders, though the pace of expansion eased from the previous month, a private business survey showed.
The services PMI fell marginally to 53.1 in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 53.4 in December, the Markit/Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed.
But it remained well above the 50-mark that separates expansion in activity from contraction on a monthly basis.