The jobs numbers for September — significantly delayed due to the government shutdown — showed employers added 119,000 jobs in the month, compared to a median economist estimate of 51,000.
The jobless rate, however, moved to 4.4% from 4.3% a month earlier.
“Based on initial observations of US labor numbers, markets perceive a sector lacking significant growth and with evidence of missed opportunities,” said Juan Perez, senior director of trading at Monex. “The statistics will not be sufficient for a comprehensive analysis that satisfies policy-makers” regarding rate cuts.
The index tracking developing-world currencies had opened the day lower after the Federal Reserve’s minutes released on Wednesday showed many officials leaning against monetary easing.
Fed Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said on Thursday that lowering interest rates to support the labor market could extend the period of above-target inflation and increase financial stability risks.
Meanwhile, stocks rose after two days of declines as strong earnings and a positive outlook from Nvidia Corp. helped revive optimism over the health of artificial intelligence-related firms. The MSCI EM equity benchmark advanced 0.9%, driven mainly by shares of chipmakers. The index is still lower for the week and remains on track for its first losing month this year.
Nvidia’s upbeat results helped ease concerns about overstretched stock valuations, which pushed technology shares down earlier this month. Still, some worries remain about over- investment in AI and the related debt issuance, according to
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote. “While Nvidia sees revenues flowing in from big spenders, investors will still want to see the hyperscalers generate revenue from outside the AI circle,” she said. “Let’s see how long Nvidia’s fuel keeps this market engine running.”
Elsewhere, US military delegation met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on Wednesday as part of a bid by President
Donald Trump to rejuvenate peace talks with Moscow, even as the fresh US-Russian proposal received a tepid reception from Ukraine’s supporters.
Ukrainian dollar bonds extended their gains, with some of the country’s notes being among the best emerging-market performers on the day. The country’s debt securities remain well below their February peak and they have repeatedly gained on hopes for ending the war, just to fall back when diplomatic efforts failed to stop the fighting.
Meanwhile, Colombia is tapping the market for eurobonds to help finance the buy-back of debt, part of a broad strategy to cut its borrowing costs.
