A dancer wearing a Chinese "Big Head Buddha" costume performs along with a Dragon dance during the opening bell ringing to mark the first trading day at the brand new Philippine Stock Exchange complex in Bonifacio Global city, the capital's newest financiSYDNEY - 9 March 2018: Asian shares pared sharp early gains on Friday ahead of U.S. payrolls data which could hasten Federal Reserve rate hikes, and as some caution set in about the new entente between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.Kim has committed to “denuclearization” and offered to hold the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, marking a potentially dramatic breakthrough in the North Korea nuclear standoff.Trump’s aides have been wary of North Korea’s diplomatic overtures because of its history of reneging on international commitments.“Whether it comes to anything remains to be seen as we have seen this happen several times over the decades,” said Shane Oliver, Sydney-based chief economist for AMP.“Or maybe its development of nuclear weapons was all just negotiating ploy. At least it will be ‘quiet’ on this front for a while yet.”The jubilation about the informal alliance did not last long as equity investors booked profits while futures for the S&P 500 and FTSE inched lower.Japan’s Nikkei was last 0.3 percent firmer, having been up more than 2 percent at one stage. That helped the U.S. dollar firm on a basket of currencies to 90.189.The dollar gained 0.4 percent on the yen to 106.63, amid the recovery in risk appetite.There was little immediate reaction to the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting where it chose to maintain its massive stimulus campaign unaltered.Investors will next focus on the U.S. jobs report for February due later in the day. The consensus expectation for average hourly earnings growth for the month is for a 0.2 percent increase, while the headline non-farm payrolls is seen to have grown by 200,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll.It was the upbeat jobs data last month that fanned speculation of faster rate rises in the United States, causing a rout in the bond market and hammering world equities.The Fed is widely expected to raise rates at least three times this year, with some analysts even expecting four.Elsewhere, oil prices recouped some ground in Asia after slipping overnight. U.S. crude bounced 12 cents to $60.24 per barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 16 cents to $63.77 per barrel.Spot gold eased 0.3 percent to $1,317.74 per ounce, extending losses into a third session as demand for safe havens lessened.

Source: Egypt Today March 09, 2018 06:00 UTC