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By 5 Minute Read* Global stocks are nearing a record high, with Europe up 0.4 percent. * Chinese stocks are falling after a large celebration is over. Oil prices have remained near all-time highs since 2018, as the OPEC+ meeting goes on. Reuters, TOKYO, July 2 – On Friday, global stocks remained near record highs as investors awaited U.S. jobs data for evidence of balanced economic growth and low inflationary pressure, while Chinese stocks fell a day after the Communist Party of China celebrated its centennial. European equities are set to open slightly higher, with Euro Stoxx futures and FTSE futures both trading 0.4 percent higher. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan rose 0.2 percent, while most other markets remained stable, although MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan declined 0.8 percent due to falls in Chinese and Hong Kong stocks. As investors became concerned that China’s monetary policy could be tightened now that the huge celebration is over, the Shanghai Composite slumped 1.7 percent, its worst drop since March. In addition, there is a toilet. Some investors have expressed concern over President Xi Jinping’s warning to foreign powers in a speech commemorating his party’s centennial, as Sino-US tensions remain high on a number of fronts. “It’s difficult to expect monetary conditions to be as loose as they were previously,” said Masahiko Loo, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein in Tokyo. Given the increasingly tight condition of Sino-US relations, Loo believes that President Xi Jinping’s warning to foreign powers during his address commemorating the Communist Party’s centenary may have alarmed some foreign investors. Foreign forces aiming to intimidate China, according to Xi, will “have their skulls crushed.” “After President Xi Jinping’s harsh language, foreign investors are likely to be cautious,” Loo said. The MSCI All Country World index fell 0.1 percent, but it was still near to an all-time high reached earlier this week. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 hit an all-time closing high for the sixth straight day on Thursday, as the new quarter opened with positive economic statistics. Unemployment claims continued to fall, reaching their lowest point since the epidemic shutdown. The monthly nonfarm payroll report is projected to show a 700,000 gain in June, while experts expect wage growth of roughly 0.4 percent in June. While equity markets are buoyed by the promise of a strong economic rebound, investors are concerned that a rapid recovery from the epidemic could boost inflation to an unfavorable level for the US Federal Reserve. “The situation remains unpredictable, and no one can make a confident prediction at this time. Any increase in inflation will have a big impact on the markets “Invesco’s global market strategist, Tomo Kinoshita, said: The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield held at 1.466 percent in bond markets, mostly holding around 1.5 percent in recent weeks, thanks to lower inflation predictions. Shorter-term bonds may face greater pressure if the jobs data indicates increased inflationary pressure, prompting investors to gamble on quicker rate hikes, according to analysts. The yield on two-year notes was 0.261 percent, close to the 15-month high of 0.284 percent set last month. On Friday, the dollar hit a 15-month high versus the yen and multi-month highs against other major currencies, as speculators bet that solid U.S. labor statistics would push it much higher. The dollar climbed to 111.66 yen, its highest level since March of last year. Overnight, the euro fell to a three-month low of $1.1837, and was last seen at $1.1847. On Thursday, the Australian dollar dropped to $0.7461, its lowest level since December. On signals that OPEC+ producers may boost output more slowly than planned in the coming months, oil prices are near their highest levels since 2018. OPEC+ has postponed its ministerial meeting till Friday to continue discussions on oil output strategy after the United Arab Emirates opposed a plan to ease the cuts immediately and extend them until the end of 2022, according to OPEC+ sources. US oil futures were practically flat on the day at $75.28 per barrel, after reaching a high of $76.22 on Thursday, the highest since October 2018. Simon Cameron-Moore did the editing./nRead More

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