Stock markets

Investors appear to have gotten over the turmoil that beset trading floors this month as a string of data suggested that worries of a US recession had been overdone.

The dollar rose more than one percent against the yen after the retail sales report was released.

After a painful collapse fuelled by a big miss on US jobs creation, equities managed to bounce back over the following days and ended Friday on a healthy note.

Equities across the planet have seen big fluctuations since a closely watched gauge of the US labour market came in well below forecasts and fanned fears the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates.

Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Mumbai, Taipei and Jakarta were in the red, along with London, Paris and Frankfurt.

After Monday's collapse that saw trillions of dollars wiped off valuations globally, traders returned to pick up bargains on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei bouncing back from a 12.4 percent loss to enjoy a gain of more than 10 percent.

Tokyo, which suffered a record loss Monday, led the gains, soaring more than 10 percent as traders bought beaten-down stocks caught up in a catastrophic day for markets.

A much-anticipated report Friday showed the US economy added just 114,000 jobs last month, well down from June and far fewer than expected, while the jobless rate rose to the highest level since October 2021.

US chip titan Intel became the latest bearer of bad news, warning it would slash more than 15 percent of its workforce -- about 18,000 jobs -- as it streamlines operations.

Investors are steeling themselves for more reports this week from other titans, including Microsoft, Facebook-parent Meta, Apple and Amazon.

The upbeat mood comes at the start of a busy week for traders, with the central banks of the United States and Japan making policy decisions, a key US jobs report due on Friday and megacaps releasing their earnings.

Tokyo's Nikkei led the retreat in equities, diving more than three percent, with a stronger yen adding to the downward pressure on exporters.

The prospect of a more welcoming borrowing environment has heavily benefited tech firms, particularly as they have invested massively in AI, seeing it as the next big money-spinner.

Traders struggled to extend gains on Wall Street, where the Dow chalked up its first record since May, while the dollar rose with Treasury yields on speculation that another Trump tariff battle with China and likely tax cuts could push inflation higher.

Investors struggled to extend the rally enjoyed on Wall Street last week, where all three main indexes ended on a positive note despite a forecast-topping read on US wholesale prices.

A smaller-than-expected read on the June consumer price index ramped up bets on the Federal Reserve lowering borrowing costs in September, and possibly again before January.

The advances also saw Hong Kong and Shanghai push higher after struggling in recent weeks over worries about the Chinese economy, with investors awaiting a key Communist Party meeting next week.

While Europe's main stock markets were dragged down Tuesday by political uncertainty in France, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the United States edged to all-time highs.

The US central bank has held interest rates at the highest levels in more than two decades to bring inflation down to its long-term two percent target without doing too much damage to either the labour market or the broader economy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended flat while the broader Topix index, which a day earlier surpassed its previous peak set in 1989, also shed some of its gains.

Bets on a second term for the controversial tycoon rose after Thursday's debate, in which he was widely considered to have come out on top after Biden struggled through answers and stumbled over his lines.

Traders were also selling equities across Asia as tech firms came under pressure amid concerns that a long-running rally in the sector may have been overdone and profit-takers stepped in.

With US data indicating the world's top economy remains in rude health and the jobs market still tight, investors remain unsure about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates, with debate centred on when -- or even if -- it will cut this year.

A forecast-topping read on the US services sector provided further evidence that the world's top economy remained in rude health and dealt a blow to hopes for interest rate cuts.

A batch of worse-than-forecast US data provided further signs that the world's number one economy was softening, but that was not enough to help push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs.

Traders are closely following the utterances of US central bank officials on their outlook for rates, with most warning that while inflation was on a downward trajectory, they wanted to see more evidence before committing to a cut.

In Europe, London fell at the open even after data showed UK inflation had eased to the Bank of England's two percent target.

Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in France, with fears growing that a snap legislative election called by President Emmanuel Macron could see right-wing parties succeed and cause political turmoil in the European Union.

The weaker-than-expected May consumer price index marked a second successive month of slowing -- to a more than three-year low -- and boosted optimism that the central bank would be able to soften monetary policy after a long-running campaign of tightening.

Forecasts for the number of reductions the Fed will make in 2024 have been whittled down from six at the start of the year to just three at best now, following a string of figures indicating the labour market remains solid and the economy still in rude health.