Stocks Rebound as Weak Jobs Data Fuels Fed Cut Bets – Asia Market Wrap

US stock futures advanced as equity investors took some positives from increased expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts following Friday’s weak US payrolls data.

Contracts for the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% after the gauge had its biggest loss since May on Friday. Asian shares were flat after declining as much as 0.5% earlier. Treasuries pared last week’s gains, with yields on the 10-year climbing almost three basis points to 4.24%. Oil retreated as OPEC+ wrapped up a run of major output hikes. The dollar edged lower, while gold slipped 0.1%.

Friday’s tumble on Wall Street – sparked by rising US unemployment and slower job creation – boosted bets on a Fed rate cut to support the economy. While the soft data raised questions about market valuations, it also reinforced expectations that policymakers may act to sustain the recovery after a three-month rally in stocks driven by confidence in the economy’s ability to weather President Donald Trump’s tariff push.

The S&P 500 ended Friday 1.6% lower and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 2%. The US 10-year yield had dropped 16 basis points Friday, while policy- sensitive two-year yields fell 28 basis points. The declines reflected heightened anticipation the Fed will cut rates in its September meeting after keeping them on hold at its July gathering.

Overnight-indexed swaps signaled more than 80% odds of a reduction next month while fully pricing in one more cut by year-end. Some market-watchers are even anticipating the Fed may cut rates by 50 basis points, twice the regular amount.

Separately, Trump said he will announce a new Fed governor and a new jobs data statistician in the coming days, two appointments that could shape his economic agenda.