Asian markets slipped to one-month lows Tuesday following a wider global sell-off in offshore markets as an increased prospect of higher U.S. interest rates sent bonds lower. Asian shares American stocks took a beating, dropping 1 percent each after rallying for six straight weeks. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell the most in a month, while European equities dropped.
Friday’s October nonfarm payrolls report released Friday showed the U.S. economy added 271,000 jobs and together with slower global economic growth numbers in the form of disappointing Chinese trade figures, the probability of a December lift-off increased from about 58 percent to about 70 percent, according to one report.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was on course to break a three-session winning streak following data released by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday which indicated that there was continued account surplus in Japan for the 15th straight month in September, with the numbers coming in at 1.47 trillion yen ($11.95 billion), up from a 978.0 billion yen surplus in September last year.
Aussie Job Opportunities Rise
Australian business confidence lessened but remained positive in October and employment conditions continued to improve modestly. Profitability eased – although both of those factors remained at higher levels. Australian job advertisements have risen for the third consecutive month and overall economic activity is expected to remain solid for at least the coming year. Job ads on the internet and in newspapers rose 0.4 per cent in October, following September's 3.8 per cent gain. Job ads in the 12 months to October rose 12.1 per cent.