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Wells Fargo’s Economist said, “The closely watched employment component fell into contraction territory for the month, suggesting job gains are likely to remain modest in this Friday’s employment report.”
The People's Bank of China injected CNY320 billion at open-market operations this week. However, a total of CNY1.16 trillion in outstanding reverse repos matures this week. This resulted in a net drain of CNY840 billion this week.
The action, which the People's Bank of China announced late Monday and which will take effect Tuesday, was free up about 700 billion yuan, or about $108 billion, in funds for banks to make loans, analysts estimate.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday the central bank is not considering cutting rates again. It introduced a negative rate in February.
Kuroda said the negative rates are likely to help the BOJ achieve its goal of 2 percent inflation around the first half of fiscal 2017, which begins in April next year.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he would cry if Britain voted to leave the European Union at a referendum on June 23.
He urged Britain to "stay in Europe," saying it would be a mistake not to be part of the bloc's decision making and that the region could be more unstable if it left.
"We have decided it is better if the U.K. stays in Europe," Schaeuble said.
European banks are having a hard time making money. The 12 largest lenders earned 18¢ on average for every $100 in assets last year, while their six biggest U.S. rivals made 92¢. Three European giants—Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland—each racked up billions of dollars in losses in 2015. RBS has lost money every year since the 2008 crisis.
By one measure, the capital of the top U.S. banks averages 6.6 percent of total assets, compared with 4.5 percent for the biggest European banks. (Banks often cite capital of 10 percent or more, after weighting some assets differently based on risk.
The predicament has put the markets on edge. European bank stocks are down an average of 18percent this year as of March 1, compared with a loss of 7.4 percent for the Stoxx Europe 600index.
U.S. crude futures had climbed 0.2 percent to $34.67 a barrel, having settled down 9 cents in the previous session.
Brent futures had risen 0.05 percent to $37.09 a barrel, after settling 14 cents higher in the previous session.
Cuts in U.S. production are providing price support, but investors are also waiting for key U.S. economic data later on Friday to give further direction, said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney's OptionsXpress.
"A lot of traders are keeping their powder dry in front of non-farm payroll data - it's the No.1 (indicator) in terms of crude consumers," he said.
"Investors are a little more confident we've seen a bottom in oil (prices)," he added. Le Brun is forecasting oil prices will hover around $40 by the middle of this year.
China's defense budget this year will rise by about seven to eight percent compared with 2015, the spokeswoman for the Chinese parliament said on Friday.
Last year, defense spending was budgeted to rise 10.1 percent to 886.9 billion yuan ($135.39billion).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country's "nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time," the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported Friday.
"Under the extreme situation that the U.S. Imperialist is misusing its military influence and is pressuring other countries and people to start war and catastrophe, the only way for our people to protect sovereignty and rights to live is to strengthen the quality and quantity of nuclear power and realize the balance of power," Kim said, according to KCNA.
"We are aware of the reports. We are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula in coordination with our regional allies," the Pentagon said in response to Friday's news. "We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments."
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