Hong Kong, July 4 — Stock futures in Hong Kong and Australia rose after US equities climbed on signs the American job market is improving. Oil held near a 14-month high and the yen pared gains against the dollar.

Hang Seng Index futures in Hong Kong added 0.2 per cent, while contracts on the S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney rose 0.4 per cent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed 0.1 per cent higher in New York, and futures on the US benchmark were little changed by 7.28am in Tokyo.

Crude was steady at US$101.28 (RM323) a barrel, after rallying 1.7 per cent yesterday on declining US stockpiles and a crisis in Egypt that resulted in the president’s ouster.

The yen slipped 0.2 per cent to 100.05 per dollar after surging 0.7 per cent yesterday.

Reports in the US showed companies boosted employment and jobless claims fell before the Labor Department’s monthly payrolls figures due July 5.

Investors are scrutinizing the data to determine if the American economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to begin reducing its US$85 billion in monthly bond purchases aimed at bolstering growth.

Global stocks have slumped more than 6 per cent since May 22, when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled stimulus could be tapered should the job market continue to improve.

“This is a market environment where good news is good news and bad news will probably be interpreted as good news, so it means a little something for both camps: those in favor of tapering and those who are less enthused about it,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, which manages about US$58 billion, said by phone.

Nikkei Futures

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.1 per cent by 3 a.m. in Osaka, and lost 0.9 per cent to 14,040 in Chicago.

Contracts due this month on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong climbed 0.4 per cent.

About 3.6 billion shares changed hands in the US, 46 per cent below the three-month average, as exchanges closed at 1 p.m. in New York.

Bond markets shut at 2 p.m. and American financial markets are closed today for the Independence Day holiday. Yields on US Treasuries due in a decade added three basis points to 2.5 per cent.

The ADP Research Institute said that US employers added 188,000 jobs in June, more than the 160,000 median estimate of economists and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 343,000 in the week ended June 29, from a revised 348,000 in the prior period that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said. The Bloomberg survey median called for 345,000 claims.

Payrolls Outlook

The July 5 Labour Department report is forecast to show the world’s biggest economy added 165,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate declined to 7.5 per cent from 7.6 per cent, according to the median of economists’ estimates.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index dropped to 52.2 in June from 53.7 the prior month.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a rise to 54. A reading greater than 50 indicates expansion in the industries that make up almost 90 per cent of the economy.

The yen also weakened against the euro, dropping 0.2 per cent to 130.17 per euro, after rallying 0.5 per cent yesterday.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.4 per cent yesterday.

The Australian dollar was steady at 90.91 US cents today, after slumping 0.7 per cent yesterday as Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said the currency has been too high and the economy “will probably get” a lower currency should it be needed.

New Zealand’s currency weakened 0.1 per cent to 77.71 cents.

Egypt Crisis

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.6 per cent yesterday on trading volumes 14 per cent higher than the 30-day average. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional equities slumped 1.1 per cent, snapping a five-day stretch of gains.

MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index retreated 2.1 per cent, the most since June 20 as gauges from China to Turkey and Brazil slumped.

Egyptian pound forwards weakened the most in six months yesterday and stocks in the nation fell after President Mohamed Mursi rebuffed the military’s deadline to end a political crisis.

Mursi was ousted by the army after markets closed in New York. The military suspended the constitution and announced an early presidential election in a bid to resolve the political crisis that has polarized the nation.

Egypt controls the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline, through which 2.24 million barrels a day of oil was shipped from the Red Sea to Europe and North America in 2011, according to the US Energy Department.

‘Geopolitical Risk’

Crude’s gains in New York were also fueled by data showing the largest decline of the year for US stockpiles.

“Geopolitical risk in Egypt is stoking some demand from those who want to increase stockpiles just in case of a disruption in oil supplies,” Leo Baek, a trader at KEB Futures Co in Seoul said by phone.

“Improving US data is also adding fuel to demand for energy.”

Gasoline futures maturing next month retreated 0.2 per cent today. Gold added 0.2 per cent to US$1,254.81 an ounce, extending yesterday’s 0.8 per cent climb.

The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities gained 1.3 per cent yesterday, the third consecutive daily advance. – Bloomberg