Asian stock markets struggled for direction on Thursday as investors awaited progress on U.S. trade deals ahead of the July 9 deadline, while they assessed China’s services data and Australia’s trade balance figures.
Markets across the globe turned cautious ahead of the U.S. jobs report, due later in the day, which could provide insights on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
Major U.S. stock indexes rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq bouncing back to respective record highs. Wall Street futures were largely unchanged in Asian trading hours on Thursday.
