ASX to rebound from six-month low as tariff uncertainty reigns

ASX slumps as traders await US jobs data; $A hits two-year low

A highly anticipated jobs report released Friday morning may have given him leeway to do just that. The U.S. Labor Department said employers added 151,000 more jobs last month than they cut. That was slightly below economists’ expectations, but it was an acceleration from January’s hiring.

Recent, discouraging surveys had shown souring confidence for U.S. businesses and households because of uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs, and economists were waiting to see if Friday’s report would show if that was translating into real pain for the economy and job market.

“To sum it up: today’s print wasn’t as bad as feared,” according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Some economists, though, also warned the jobs data included concerning details underneath the surface that could imply trouble ahead. The number of people working part time who would rather be full time rose 10 per cent in February from January, for example.

“The market might breathe a sigh of relief that the labor market was still looking healthy, but a deeper dive shows that spring could be a more challenging season,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

The whiplash actions from the White House on tariffs — first placing them on trading partners and then exempting some and then doing it again — have raised uncertainty for businesses.

That sparked fears businesses might freeze in response to what they have described as “chaos” and pull back on hiring. U.S. households, meanwhile, are bracing for higher inflation because of tariffs, which is weakening their confidence and could hold back their spending. That would sap more energy from the economy.

Trump said Friday he wants tariffs to bring jobs back to the United States, and he gave no indication more certainty is imminent for financial markets. “There will always be changes and adjustments,” he said in comments from the Oval Office.

“There could be some disturbance,” Trump said about the effect on the economy before saying, “I solved a little bit of that” by giving a one-month reprieve on tariffs for Mexican and Canadian imports for automakers.

In the bond market, Treasury yields initially fell after the jobs report but rose after Powell’s comments pushed traders to ratchet back expectations for four or more cuts to rates this year.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell as low as 4.22 per cent before climbing to 4.30 per cent, up from 4.28 per cent late Thursday.

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