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(Bloomberg) -- Stocks slipped in Asia following Friday’s strong US jobs data, while oil climbed to the highest level in more than four months as a fresh wave of US sanctions against Russia threatened to crimp supplies.
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Shares in Australia, Taiwan and South Korea all fell from the open, putting a gauge of regional shares on course for a fourth day of losses. US equity futures also edged lower after the S&P 500 fell 1.5% on Friday. Japanese markets are closed Monday, meaning there’s no trading in cash Treasuries in Asian hours.
Friday’s better-than-expected US payroll data further damped bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. That gave the dollar a boost Friday, with Bloomberg gauge of the greenback rising to a two-year high, and pushing up US Treasury yields.
The dollar is “kind of this magical beast at the moment,” and positioning is long, said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group told Bloomberg Television. “It gives you that relative growth, that protection — some sort of hedge against tariff risk at least in the short term.”
Global crude benchmark Brent advanced above $81 a barrel, after surging almost 4% Friday. The US imposed its most aggressive and ambitious sanctions yet on Russia’s oil industry, targeting two large exporters, insurance companies, and more than 150 tankers.
Australian and New Zealand bonds dropped from the start of trade, following last week’s Treasury declines. US sovereign bonds slumped on Friday after the December payroll data, sending the 30-year yield above 5% for the first time in more than a year.
In Asia, data set for release Monday includes December trade figures for China and inflation for India. Separate figures on China’s December money supply may also be released at any time through January 15.
China’s economic numbers will offer investors further evidence of the challenges facing the world’s second largest economy. Chinese stocks are facing their worst start to a year since 2016 after falling more than 5% in the first seven trading sessions of 2025.
Strong Jobs
Investors will shift their focus to signs of US inflation in data to be released this week, with the consumer price index report released on Wednesday. They’ll also be watching the New York Fed’s one-year inflation expectations due Monday, producer prices on Tuesday and jobless claims on Thursday.