Stocks stumble as bond traders turn to jobs data

Stocks stumble as bond traders turn to jobs data

SYDNEY - Asian stocks wobbled and risk-sensitive currencies in the region sagged on Friday as investors bet inflation will prompt U.S. rate rises next year, even with the new Omicron coronavirus variant casting a cloud over the outlook. S&P 500 futures traded just below flat by afternoon in Hong Kong, recovering a larger drop earlier when news that Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi would delist in New York revived geopolitical and tech regulation worries. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei touched a two-month low and is set for a 3% weekly fall. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar flirted with a one-year low and two-year Treasury yields, which track short-term U.S. interest rate expectations, looked set to log their sharpest one-week jump in more than two years. "Just about everyone at the Fed now says tapering needs to be accelerated and rate hikes happen far sooner than we had thought," said Rabobank global strategist Michael Every. "The curve flattening we see speaks volumes on that." Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell began the shift this week by saying the bank will discuss a faster taper at its meeting this month, prompting bets that near-term hikes end up curbing