Dollar Holds Loss as Emerging Stocks Rise Before Payrolls

The dollar held losses against most peers and emerging-market stocks advanced before the March U.S. payrolls report. Australia’s dollar reached its weakest level versus the New Zealand currency in at least 30 years.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 8:11 a.m. in London after sliding 0.6 percent Thursday. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 0.4 percent, set for its biggest weekly gain in a year as South Korean and Russian shares rose. Chinese shares reversed early losses and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 percent. The Aussie fell to as low as NZ$ 1.0094. Markets across Asia, the U.S. and Europe are closed for holidays Friday.

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Futures show traders pushed back bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate increases to the latest ever ahead of a report that will probably show U.S. employers slowed their rate of hiring in March. Iran and world powers said they reached an outline accord over nuclear arms.

“With few participants today, markets may not move unless the jobs report deviates significantly from forecasts,” said Junichi Ishikawa, an analyst at IG Markets Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “A lackluster report will damp expectations for an early rate hike and the dollar-selling trend will continue.”

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Economists project that U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 245,000 in March, while the unemployment rate held at an almost seven-year low.

The Bloomberg gauge tracking the dollar against 10 of its most-traded peers retreated 1.6 percent since the Fed’s March 19 meeting, when the central bank cut its outlook for rates. The euro bought $ 1.0876 Friday, while the yen was little changed at 119.68 per dollar.

Fed Liftoff

As of Wednesday’s close, Federal funds futures implied liftoff from zero in the final week of November, according to an index maintained by analysts at Morgan Stanley. That’s been pushed back from September, before the policy-setting March meeting.

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The emerging-markets stock index rose 4.1 percent this week, its biggest such advance since March 2014, on the back of a four-day surge in Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares before the Easter holiday.

Russia’s Micex index climbed 0.2 percent, increasing for a fifth straight day, the longest streak this year. The ruble was 0.4 percent stronger at 56.4450 per dollar and gained 0.4 percent to 61.4200 per euro.

Construction companies led the Kospi’s 0.8 percent gain in Seoul. Daelim Industrial Co. jumped 4.1 percent and Sambu Construction Co. surged 8.7 percent amid speculation that Korean builders may win more orders from Iran, Shinyoung Securities analyst Park Sera said.

Iran Deal

The deal announced in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday doesn’t commit either side to immediate action, and leaves three more months for diplomats to fill in details. The news sent Brent crude 3.8 percent lower Thursday amid speculation a deal will mean more Iranian oil entering global markets. Oil-futures aren’t trading in New York or London Friday.

Just four of the 33 industry groups on Japan’s Topix retreated today. The gauge capped its 10th advance in 11 weeks. Equity markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India and Singapore are shut.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1 percent after falling as much as 0.9 percent in early trade. The gauge is up 89 percent since the end of June. China’s securities regulator approved 30 initial public offerings for April.

Malaysia’s benchmark equity gauge was little changed and heading toward a third weekly gain. Thai shares rose in Bangkok and Vietnam’s major gauge climbed 0.1 percent.

Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell as much as 2.6 percent to the lowest since trading began in October 2013. Ore with 62 percent content at Qingdao in China plunged 11 percent this week to the lowest level since 2005, based on daily and weekly data from Metal Bulletin and annual benchmarks compiled by Clarkson Plc, the world’s largest shipbroker, for ore delivered to the world’s biggest consumer.

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