Morning Bid: Markets hit tentative pause on selloff
Markets hit the pause button after a selloff in equities since the start of the week but sentiment remained fragile, as worries re-emerged over the prospects for the U.S. economy and investors focused squarely on this week's job reports. Labour data on Wednesday suggested the U.S. jobs market was losing steam, raising expectations the Federal Reserve may resort to large interest rate cuts, while additional reports including Friday's non-farm payrolls data are keeping sentiment on edge. Futures indicated European bourses were set for a subdued open after Asian shares rose 0.4% on Thursday, clawing back some of the week's losses, although the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is still down 2.2% so far this week.