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·         Stocks stumble, dollar stands tall as U.S. payrolls loom

Stocks made a meandering start to the second half of 2021 on Thursday, dipping in Asia on worries about new coronavirus infections and fresh lockdowns, while bond markets were on edge and the dollar crept higher ahead of U.S. labour data.

Equity futures pointed to a small bounce in Europe, after a month-end selloff, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.4%, while FTSE futures rose 0.1% and S&P 500 futures trod water at record high levels and were last up about 0.15%.

In an Asia session thinned by a holiday in Hong Kong, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3% and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4%.

The U.S. dollar edged up to a four-month high of $1.1839 per euro and a 15-month high of 111.18 yen.

In China, equities cheered the centenary of the Communist Party with a small rise, but a nationalist address from President Xi Jinping in Tiananmen Square did little to soothe geopolitical nerves and the yuan weakened very slightly.

The MSCI ex-Japan index closed out the first half with a gain of 5.8% compared with world stocks’ rise of 11.4% and a gain of 14.4% for the S&P 500, which logged its fifth consecutive record closing high to end last month.

 

·         Japanese shares drop on worries about COVID-19 resurgence

Japanese shares reversed course to trade lower on Thursday on concerns that a resurgence of COVID-19 infections would lead to an extension of restrictions, slowing economic recovery.

The Nikkei share average fell 0.41% to 28,674.52 by 0200 GMT, while the broader Topix was down 0.34% to 1,936.88.

Japan is considering an extension of two weeks to a month for coronavirus prevention measures in Tokyo and other areas, local media said, as new infections in the country’s capital rose to their highest since May 26.

 

·         China's Didi to be added to FTSE's equity indexes on July 8

Didi Global Inc will be added to FTSE Russell’s global equity indexes on July 8 in an expedited entry following Wednesday’s U.S. stock market debut of the Chinese ride-hailing company, the index publisher said.

Didi shares will be included in the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE Global Large Cap Index, and the FTSE Emerging Index, FTSE Russell said in a statement on its website.

The announcement came as Didi, backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, rose slightly on its U.S. debut, valuing it at $68.49 billion, in the biggest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since 2014.

Didi is also backed by technology companies Alibaba, Tencent and Uber.

 

·         Stock futures are higher as the S&P 500 sits at record, Wall Street set to kick off second half of 2021

U.S. stock futures were higher in early morning trading on Thursday as investors gear up for the second half of 2021.

Dow futures rose 91 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both in mildly positive territory.

 

·         European markets climb, making a positive start to the second half