HONG KONG, Feb 7 — Asian markets fluctuated today as a forecast-busting US jobs report reinforced optimism that the world’s top economy was well on the recovery track, but also ramped up expectations of an interest rate hike.
There is mounting talk that officials will have to hike borrowing costs at least four times this year — with some predicting as many as seven rises could be on the cards. With the jobs reading showing the economy remained resilient in the face of the Omicron coronavirus variant, supply chain snarls and surging prices, Wall Street mostly rose, helped by a thumping rise in Amazon.Asia was mixed. Shanghai led the gainers as investors returned from their week-long Lunar New Year break to play catch-up with a broadly strong week across world markets, while Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta were also in positive territory.