Markets brace for US jobs data as Fed hike looks more likely

investmentnews.com:

Stocks declined as investors prepared for another round of US jobs numbers to gauge if they will back new bets for more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Shares in Europe headed for their worst week since the middle of March. US equity futures signaled more of the losses seen Thursday in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 benchmarks after stronger-than-expected private hiring data. Asian stocks slid for a third day.

In corporate news, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV shares slumped after analysts at Exane and JPMorgan Chase & Co. turned bearish on the food-delivery company. Persimmon Plc was among UK homeowners trading lower after Halifax said house prices are falling at their fastest annual pace since 2011. 

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rose in US premarket trading, tracking gains in Hong Kong after Reuters said Chinese authorities will wrap up a probe on Ant Group Co. as soon as Friday with a fine of more than $1.1 billion, capping years of scrutiny over the fintech giant. 

Traders added to wagers of more rate hikes as ADP Research Institute data on Thursday showed US companies added the most jobs in more than a year in June. Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls and unemployment reports will be key to any more revisions in rate-hike expectations after the ADP numbers prompted a spike in Treasury yields.

“If we get a consensus-type report, it is possible that the market takes yields off their extremes into the weekend,” ING Groep NV rates strategists led by Antoine Bouvet wrote in a note. “But we’d still maintain that there has been enough in the past few days of data for any pullback to be reversed next week, and for the push higher in yields to continue.”

Treasuries steadied in Friday trading, with the policy sensitive two-year yield near