Asia Market Quick Take – January 08, 2026

Asia Market Quick Take – January 8, 2026

Key points:

• Macro: US private jobs sector and ISM Services PMI grows; Jobs openings fall
• Equities: US stocks mixed; Housing stocks fell on Trump institutional buyer ban
• FX: Dollar rises, driven by yields; AUD drops after soft CPI
• Commodities: Gold and silver fell, ending three days of gains
• Fixed income: Treasury gains while yield curve flattens

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.

Macro: 

• US private sector jobs grew by 41K in December 2025, recovering from November’s 29K loss. Education/health and leisure/hospitality led gains. Professional services, information, and manufacturing saw cuts. Pay growth remained at 4.4% for job-stayers and rose to 6.6% for job-changers.
• Japan's nominal wages increased 0.5% YoY in November 2025, down from October's 2.5% and below the expected 2.3%, affected by a 17% drop in bonuses. Real wages fell 2.8% as consumer prices rose 3.3%, squeezing incomes and complicating the BoJ’s outlook amid inflation concerns.
• The US ISM Services PMI rose to 54.4 in December 2025, up from 52.6 in November, surpassing expectations and marking the strongest growth since October 2024. All subindexes expanded, including business activity and new orders, while price pressures eased and supplier deliveries slowed.
• US job openings fell by 303,000 to 7.146 million in November 2025, below expectations and the lowest since September 2024. Declines were seen in several sectors, with construction rising. All regions experienced drops, while hires and separations remained unchanged at 5.1 million.
• Trump plans to ban large investors from buying single-family homes and urges Congress to codify it. He opposed defense contractors' excessive dividends and buybacks. Treasury Secretary Bessent confirmed a tax exemption on American car loan interest.

Equities:

• US - S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow fell 0.8% from record highs, while the Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.1%. JOLTS showed a steep drop in openings, signaling softer labor demand, while ADP hiring improved and ISM Services surprised to the upside, pointing to a slowing but resilient economy. Banks dragged the Dow as JPMorgan and Bank of America fell over 2%. NVIDIA (+1%) and Alphabet (+2.5%) supported the Nasdaq. Valero and Marathon rose on renewed Venezuelan crude flows, while Chevron slipped on weaker oil. Blackstone dropped 5.5% after Trump vowed to bar large investors from buying single‑family homes. Defense stocks were volatile after Trump proposed banning buybacks/dividends until production issues improve and pledged to lift the 2027 defense budget to USD 1.5T.Dow
• EU -The STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 each slipped 0.1%. Eurozone inflation eased to 2% in December as expected, while core inflation fell unexpectedly, keeping hopes alive for potential ECB rate cuts this year. Financials dragged the market, with ING and BBVA down over 2% and Deutsche Boerse falling more than 3%. Defense stocks rallied on rising geopolitical tensions following U.S. threats toward Greenland and the seizure of a Russian tanker, lifting Rheinmetall and Leonardo by 5% and Thales by 8%.
• HK - Hang Seng fell 251 points (0.9%) to 26,459 on Wednesday, pulling back from seven‑week highs as broad profit‑taking set in. Sentiment was also hit by geopolitical tensions after China banned exports of dual‑use items to Japan. Losses eased after the PBoC pledged RRR and interest‑rate cuts to support growth, while mainland markets stayed near decade highs on firm volumes and earnings optimism. Major decliners included Tencent Music (-5.1%), Kuaishou (-3%), Meituan (-2.2%), and SMIC (-2%).

Earnings this week:

• Thursday:TD SYNNEX, Helen of Troy, Acuity Brands, and RPM International, Fast Retailing, Seven & I

FX:

• USD rose, driven by higher US yields after the ISM Services report signalled strong growth since October 2024. While November job openings fell, markets focused on the upcoming December NFP report, expecting 55k new jobs.Geopolitical issues have lessened in FX impact as the US negotiates an oil deal with Venezuela. The DXY index climbed to 98.706.
• G10 currencies except the SEK, were down against the USD, with the CHF, GBP, and CADlagging notably. The euro edged lower as the Eurozone's year-on-year flash reading aligned with expectations, likely maintaining the ECB's stance. 
• In Australia, softer-than-expected CPI results led to AUD weakness, persisting despite USD weakness during the European morning, with AUDUSD trading around 0.6727.

Commodities:

• Oil edged higher as traders absorbed fresh US measures on Venezuela—indefinite oversight of future crude sales and seizure of two more sanctioned tankers—with WTI near $56 after Tuesday’s 2% drop and Brent below $60; Energy Secretary Chris Wright said stored crude will be offered first before selling Venezuelan supply, and the Energy Department said oil is already being marketed.
• Gold steadied after a near‑1% drop ahead of US jobs data and annual commodity‑index rebalancing, with passive trackers expected to sell more precious‑metals futures after last year’s surge; bullion was up 0.1% at $4,460.96, silver rose 0.6% to $78.62 after a near‑4% plunge, and platinum and palladium gained.

Fixed income:

• Treasuries ended mostly higher after a US‑morning rally on weaker‑than‑expected ADP data despite heavy new issues, with front‑end gains trimmed, options demand favouring lower 10‑year yields and UK gilts’ outperformance adding support, while 11 investment‑grade borrowers raised $16.35bn, lifting the weekly total to a non‑pandemic record.

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