(Reuters/China Daily)
Women performing yoga on a glass suspension bridge as a way to attract tourists in Fuxishan, Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.
Here is what you need to know.
Friday is jobs day. The US economy added 215,000 jobs in March, topping the 205,000 that was expected. The unemployment rate ticked up to 5%. Additionally, average hourly earnings increased 2.3% compared with a year ago.
Q1 had one of the greatest comebacks in stock market history. Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial noted this was the first time since the fourth quarter of 1933 that the stock market slumped more than 10% in a quarter yet finished in positive territory. The S&P 500 sank to a loss of 11.3% by mid-February but ended the first quarter with a gain of 0.7%.
Saudi Arabia has a plan to end its dependence on oil. Saudi Arabia is planning to build a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg reports. In a five-hour interview, Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, told Bloomberg the fund would help Saudi Arabia end its dependence on oil. As part of the construction of the fund, Saudi Arabia will go public with no more than 5% of its state-run oil firm Aramco, Bloomberg says. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down 2.3% at $37.47 a barrel after the news.
Chinese manufacturing bounced back. Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in eight months. The 50.2 print for March was an improvement from February's 49.0 and ahead of the 49.3 that economists had forecast. Additionally, the nonmanufacturing reading also saw a gain, ticking up to 53.8 from February's reading of 52.7. The Chinese yuan ended Friday down 0.2% at 6.4639 per dollar.
South Korean exports fell for a 15th straight month. South Korean exports, often referred to as "the world's economic canary in the coal mine," because of their exposure to the world's three largest economies, totaled $42.98 billion in March, down 8.2% year-over-year. This marked a 15th straight monthly decline, the largest string of losses in the country's history, according to Yonhap News Agency. The news wasn't all bad, as exports increased 18% from February, and the country's trade surplus expanded to $9.8 billion from $7.4 billion the month earlier. The South Korean won finished weaker by 0.9% at 1,154.03 per dollar.
Japan's Tankan surveys disappointed. The Tankan survey, which measures sentiment levels for large manufacturers, slumped to +6 for the first quarter from its previous look of +12. The number missed the +8 reading that economists were anticipating and was the lowest print since Q2 2013. The future outlook was even more pessimistic, falling to +3 from +7. The Japanese yen is stronger by 0.3% at 112.22.